Kirby of Dreamland
by jikanet-tanaka
Summary: A naive child warrior searches the land for a mean to destroy an ancient cosmic abomination, while a self-proclaimed king with a megalomaniacal streak tries to find his way home. A mashup between the anime and the game verses, mostly based on the 'Kirby's Dreamland' series.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Kirby and all affiliated characters belongs to Nintendo.

* * *

It was unusually cloudy today, Adeleine thought.

The rainy season was already long gone, and yet the sky was dark and grey, with the sun nowhere to be found. Adeleine bit down her lip as she surveyed the low, gloomy clouds. She hadn't prepared anything in case of bad weather.

"Is it going to rain, Adeleine?" she heard someone say. Adeleine turned her gaze away from the sky, finding next to her one of the kids she was babysitting. The rest of the Cappy children had stopped playing as well. They gathered around Adeleine, and they looked expectantly at her as she put away her brush and colours.

Adeleine shivered despite her woolly painter's frock – she hadn't even noticed the wind rising. "It would seem so," Adeleine said. She squinted at the sky. "These clouds are pitch black... we might even have a storm coming."

"No fair!" another Cappy girl cried out. She held the soccer ball with which they had been playing not a moment prior. "How are we supposed to finish our game then?"

The kids started to speak all at once and swarmed at her. Adeline had to put up her hands to make them calm down.

"Guys, guys!" she said, "I have an idea!" She was relieved to see them clam up. "What about an expedition? A bit of exploring is always fun, right?"

"Exploring?" one of the boys said. "Where? It's not like there's any place in the village we've never been to." The other children nodded, and for a bit Adeleine was afraid they would all start to complain again.

"Actually, there is," Adeleine said, managing to interrupt their chatter before it could truly even start. She couldn't help but smile at their puzzled faces. "You've never gone inside the castle, have you?" She pointed to the great yellow structure looming over them from the high hill that overlooked the village.

The kids whirled to face her.

"T-the castle?!" they cried out in almost perfect synchronicity.

"They say that the man who lives there hates children!" the Cappy girl with the ball added.

A timid bespectacled Cappy boy ran up to Adeleine, lower lip wobbling. "I don't wanna go! He might eat us for dinner!" Adeleine patted his head with a bewildered smile. Just what kind of sordid stories had the villagers invented?

"Of course he wouldn't! He's my great-grandpa, remember?" Adeleine said. "My mom and my grandma were raised at the castle!" Adeleine felt a distant pang in her chest at the thought of her dear grandma, who had died only two years ago, but she shooed it away. "Well, it's true he's not that fond of children," she admitted, "but..."

"But?" the Cappy boy with the glasses prompted her. All of the others seemed to be waiting eagerly for her response as well.

"He likes me well enough," Adeleine said. "And I haven't seen him for a while. He must be so lonely, up there with only the Dees to keep him company." She missed him too, although she did not want to admit that out loud. "Beside, the castle is so big... he might never notice we're there in the first place. If we sneak in, we can find somewhere to play without him ever finding out!"

"Sneak in?" The girl with the ball had a mischevious glint in her eyes. "That wouldn't be half so bad, actually!"

"But, but..." the boy with the glasses stuttered. His shoulders slumped forward when he noticed the grins that were breaking out on his friends' faces.

"It's settled, then?" Adeleine said as she waited for their approval. Finally, they all gave their assent – some more enthusiastically than others, she was amused to find. "Alright! Let's go!"

Adeleine thanked all the gods that might exist that she managed to get all of the kids up the hill leading to the castle without any of them making a fuss. The Waddle Dees patrolling the castle walls stopped to look down at her; she gave them a holler, and couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief as they began to lower the drawbridge. She'd half expected to be chasen out at spearpoint.

Adeleine adjusted the red beret on her head, still feeling a bit apprehensive. The guards and servants gave her curious looks as she strolled through the castle courtyard, the group of Cappy kids not far behind her. Unlike the Dees of Pupu Village, the Waddle Dees of Castle Dedede were reclusive by nature, much like their master. Adeleine wasn't even sure they could speak the tongue commonly used through Dreamland.

The children were strangely quiet. Adeleine tried to think of something to say to reassure them, but before she could speak, one of the girls grabbed Adeleine's hand – a bit too tightly for comfort – and asked her in a tiny voice.

"What do we do if your grandpa finds us?"

"He won't do anything, really," Adeleine said. She smiled fondly. "He's all bark but no bite."

Her great-grandfather had always been the grouchy sort, although Adeleine had noticed he had gotten progressively worse since Grandma had died. She had also been told he used to be much livelier when her great-granddad, whom she never met, was still alive. She could never bring herself to dislike Grandpa because of this; perhaps he was grumpy because he simply missed his best friend.

The thought made her sad, and the huge, empty spaces of the castle weren't helping. They wandered through what seemed like hundreds of deserted corridors before they finally found the place Adeleine had been looking for: a big and seemingly unused storage room. It had been Adeleine's very own unofficial playroom whenever she had visited the castle growing up.

"There!" she said. "I don't think he'll find us here."

The kids looked at each other, apprehension written all over their faces, and took small, baby steps into the storage room.

Before long, they had all but forgotten their fears of the elusive master of the castle. The pitter-patter of their feet and the sounds of their laughter soon filled the air, to Adeleine's great relief. After a while, they tired themselves out and formed a circle around her; she took out of her bag her favourite book, a thick red tome written and illustrated by her grandma. It was called Star Warriors Chronicles and it was a collection of tales about courageous warriors of old and the nightmarish creatures they had fought and defeated. Adeleine began by her favourite, the story of a young Star Warrior named Popopo.

It was at this particular moment that Adeleine's great-grandpa opened the door.

Everyone froze instantly. Adeleine was left hanging in the middle of a sentence, looking much like the kid with one hand in the cookie jar, while the children seemed about to scream and scatter. Grandpa stared at them dumbly, a crease deepening between his eyes. A muscle started to twitch above the arch of his brow.

Grandpa's dark blue gaze slowly went down to Adeleine. She swallowed nervously. They looked nothing alike, he, the tallest and largest person in all Dreamland and she, a delicate girl with short black hair and grey-green eyes. Before Grandpa could say anything, Adeleine began to speak.

"Hi, Grandpa!" she said. She hoped he wouldn't notice how forced her smile was. "The-weather's-really-bad-outside, so-I-thought-to-bring-the-kids-I-babysit-here-to-play." She paused to regain her breath and watch his reaction. He opened his mouth, his frown deepening. She cut him off before he could place a word. "We won't mess up the place, really, we won't bother you at all!" Despite all of Adeleine's efforts, her voice had risen up a pitch. Grandpa's eyes narrowed to mere slits. Adeleine grimaced, feeling a bit of irritation creeping up on her. Why did he always have to make things so difficult?

"Of all places you could bring those little friends of yours, you bring them here?" Grandpa said. "Why would I want some kids running around my castle?!" He jabbed his index finger at her, as he was prone to whenever he was angry.

"Gran told me I could come here anytime I wanted!" Adeleine retorted. "Maybe if you acted a bit nicer, people would come to see you more often!"

Grandpa winced. What she said had obviously stung.

Adeleine immediately felt horribly guilty, but she couldn't let up, not now. "Now, Grandpa," she said, "we won't run around the place and we won't make a sound. Promise. But in return, you have to let us borrow this room. Just this one room. Please, Grandpa?"

Grandpa was tapping his foot against the ground; one of his eyes was twitching. Finally, he gave a huff.

"Alright then, I'll let you stay in my castle," he said. "But if any of you commoners leave a speck of dirt on the floor, I'll swear I'll..." He let his threat hovering in the air as his eyes growed huge and menacing. The children cowered under his glare. Adeleine met his gaze head on, silently asking him to leave. He gave another scowl and turned away without a single word.

Adeleine gave a sigh. Oh, what a day... "Now, where was I?" she muttered half to herself.

"You were about to tell us the story of Popopo and the Rainbow Drops!" a Cappy boy said. The other kids nodded, their enthusiasm slowly returning.

"Right," she said. "Now, remember, here in Dreamland, we've got not just one, but two Star Warriors living with us." The kids' grins spanned ear to ear; they seemed barely able to contain their excitement. The fact that the last two Star Warriors in the galaxy – no, in the entire universe – had chosen their otherwise uninteresting country as their place of choice to live was a source of pride for all Dreamlanders.

"So, it all starts when— uh, what it is, Isi?" Adeleine stopped when a girl tugged at her sleeve. The Cappy pointed to the other end of their little circle.

There, sitting conspicuously, was Adeleine's great-grandpa.

Grandpa's giddy, childlike expression disappeared when Adeleine met his eyes, her mouth hanging open. How on Popstar had he managed to creep in without her noticing? He was big as three Cappies, at the very least!

"What? I like being told stories," Grandpa said. A Cappy boy next to him whimpered and scooted away, while a little girl beside Adeleine broke into sudden, hysteric tears. "Hrmf!" Grandpa pouted as Adeleine gathered the girl in her arms, giving him a bewildered look.

"Beside," Grandpa continued huffily, "that story's really overrated! That little Star Warrior is a lame hero!" The kids gave each other disbelieving stares. "He is! He would have failed if it wasn't for me!" He accentuated the last word dramatically.

The kids seemed part puzzled, part outraged. Adeleine only continued to stroke the sobbing Cappy girl's hair, too baffled to be able to form a word.

"What d'you mean?" one of the older kids said with a snort. "Why are you talking like you were in the story? It didn't even happen!"

"But it did happen!"

The children looked at Grandpa like he had grown a second head.

"What do you mean?" Adeleine asked. She had always entertained the idea that the stories in the book were based on real events, but she had never summoned the courage to just ask her grandmother. _And now, it's too late..._

"It means what it means!" Grandpa said. "It really happened and I was there! That Star Warrior brat wouldn't even be around now if it wasn't for me!" He puffed out his chest in apparent pride.

Now, Adeleine was truly curious. She closed her book, her eyes growing huge. "Really? How did it goes?"

Grandpa went to his feet, and (to Adeleine's great embarrassment) struck a dramatic pose. "Since, I'm such in a good mood, I'm gonna tell you." The kids just stared at him with dubious gazes, clearly unimpressed. "Now open up your precious lil' ears, 'cause all of this happen a loooong time ago..."

* * *

 _ **Author's note** : Eeep, I've wanted to do a Kirby fic for a pretty long time, but I was always a bit apprehensive, heheh ^^'. If you have some constructive criticism, or ideas or anything to tell me, be free to! I have loved the Kirby games for so long and I know many feel the same, so I would be pretty sad to mess it up too much! I hope you guys will like my foray into such a beloved universe!_


	2. Chapter 1 - Spring Breeze

_**Disclaimer:** Kirby doesn't belong to me, but to Intelligent Systems and Nintendo~ _

* * *

_Dark. It was the first word that sprang to his mind to describe his surroundings. No matter where he looked, no matter how wide he opened his eyes, he only saw shades drifting among the void. His heart began to race, and he made the mistake of staring down at his feet. With a jolt, he realized that there was no ground. He was floating aimlessly amidst an endless abyss_

 _With a gasp, he tried to move forward, but the nothingness around him was thicker than water. His breathing was getting more laboured._ I'm choking! _he realized. His heart beat harder and harder against his chest – still, it seemed as if the blood couldn't get to his lungs and head. Suffocating, he tried to call for help, but nothing came out of his mouth, he tried to cry out, but the screams did not leave his throat._

 _There was nothing here, nobody to save him. And when the black orb with the bright orange eye finally came to him, he was simply too tired to fight its pull. The shadowy creature edged closer and, oh! he was so scared, please! don't hurt me, make it stop, please!—_

"—irby! Kirby!"

A pair of dark blue eyes opened suddenly. For a few seconds that seemed like an eternity, Kirby stared up ahead, his mind an utter blank. But then, he caught sight of the bright orange rays of the morning sun peering over the horizon, and felt the comfortable bark of his favourite tree against his back. He could smell the scent of the spring flowers, and hear the flocks of sheep bleating in the distance. Kirby's face broke into a simple, joyful smile.

And then Tokkori poked him in the eye.

The tiny pink puffball let out a yelp and toppled out of his tree. Said tree actually belonged to Tokkori, but Kirby had never worked out that particular detail, even after four years of living in Dreamland. The small yellow bird flew down as a dirt-covered Kirby jumped to his feet, sneezing.

" _Ha_ _!_ " came Tokkori's snivelly voice. "Some warrior you are!"

Kirby gave a plaintive moan. Why was Tokkori being so mean?

"You were sleeping in my nest, _again_ _!_ " the yellow bird retorted. Like the other denizens of Dreamland, he had learned to interpret Kirby's expressions and body language.

Kirby blinked at Tokkori, mouth wide open in confusion. Usually, the small bird did not mind having to share his tree. It seemed Tokkori was being rather moody this morning. Kirby let out a contemplative _'poyo'_. If Tokkori was in a bad mood, then it would better to leave for the village as quick as possible. The yellow bird could get nasty really fast if he felt like it.

" _Kirby_ _!_ " shrilled Tokkori, as the young puffball dashed away. Kirby made the mistake of looking back; he winced when Tokkori caught up to him and started to peck at his head. "I didn't wake you up to make a social call! I had something to tell you!" When Kirby finally stopped in his tracks, Tokkori perched himself atop the puffball's head and continued. "That pesky brat Fumu asked me to keep you away from the village for the day! Imagine the nerve! Do you know how annoying it is to play babysitter with you?!"

Kirby scratched his head. "Poyo?"

"Don't look at me like that, you stupid pink ball," Tokkori said. The bird flew off Kirby and hovered in front of the puffball's face, dark eyes narrowing. "I dunno what they're planning and even if I did, I wouldn't tell you. It's probably meant to be a surprise, so don't be a spoilsport and keep out of their way!" The bird punctuated his last words with what must have been his impression of a menacing growl. The fact that he was a tiny bird with a shrilly voice broke the effect, in Kirby's honest opinion, so the young puffball only gave a shrug before breaking into a run.

As he ran, Kirby was relieved to hear the yellow bird's rantings fading away. His tiny legs gave up when he arrived atop a grassy hill from which he could see Pupu Village in the distance. Kirby looked at the colourful rooftops and his stomach gave a mournful growl. He could picture his fellow villagers eating breakfast: he saw in his mind's eye the Cappy families all seated together, a platter of delicious fruits at the centre of the table, their plates filled with tasty omelets and warm potato fries fresh from the oven and thick slices of ham served with homemade ketchup! Kirby salivated at the thought and he gave a little whine. Why was he not allowed in the village today? More importantly, where was he supposed to eat? Kirby let his gaze wander across all of Dreamland. It eventually landed on a certain large, red-roofed building with yellow bricks.

There was still _one_ place where he could have a succulent breakfast for free.

* * *

At the other end of the kingdom, at the exact same moment a certain child Star Warrior was waking up, another pair of dark blue eyes was snapping open.

" _Gyaaaargh_!"

With a loud crash, the king of Dreamland tumbled out of bed and onto the floor. For a few seconds that seemed as long as hours, Dedede remained sprawled out his back, trying to catch his breath. His breath? With a start, Dedede realized that he could breathe again! His eyes focused and he could see the pale pattern of waves on the dark blue paint of the ceiling. A raspy sound startled him, and it took him some time to notice it was the noise of the air leaving his beak. His heartbeat gently slowed down. There was no murky darkness, no creepy orange eye staring at him. Dedede let out a bark of his typical raucous laughter in relief. It was all just a stupid dream, just a product of his overactive imagination...

The door was slightly ajar, and Dedede spied a pair of Waddle Dee servants looking at him. They appeared utterly baffled.

"What are you two looking at?" Dedede managed to croak. The Waddle Dees exchanged a few hushed words in their strange language and quickly scampered off. Dedede scowled. Lately, the Dees had started to royally get on his nerves. After Nightmare's attack on Dreamland two years earlier, many of his diminutive servant had left the castle to help rebuilding the village. And to Dedede's great horror, a number of them had chosen to stay with the Cappies. To top it off, the remaining Dees of Castle Dedede had adopted quite the disloyal streak. And thus, for two _long_ years, he had to endure subpar cooking and cleaning, not to mention a few silent, scoffing looks from the otherwise meek creatures.

After a few moments, Dedede stood up and winced, rubbing the side of his head. In his fall, it had collided painfully with the flowerpot that Escargon always put by his bed. The roses had all fallen to the floor, and Dedede noticed with much displeasure that they were all withered. His usually hard-working adviser must have not changed them for days. What lousy servants he had!

With a scoff, Dedede cleaned up and dressed in his favourite red robes, before heading towards his dining room, heavy limbs dragging across the floor.

* * *

Kirby gingerly opened the door of the balcony on which he had landed, peering down the hallway to see if there were any guards coming. A lovely aroma instead filled the air. It seemed to come from the end of the corridor, which Kirby knew led to the kitchens. Kirby's eyes filled with stars – oh, what a marvelous breakfast he would find there! He headed for the kitchens with a skip in his steps and a song in his heart, the Waddle Dee guardsmen that he did meet all but ignoring him.

To Kirby's great surprise the kitchens were empty. That was strange. At this time of day, the Dees would usually be busy with preparing the king's breakfast. Kirby was about to turn back when he heard some mutters coming from one of the stoves.

"S' not in my job's description, I keep telling him," the voice was grumbling, "but does he listen? _Nooo_ , he never does! And now I'm the one who has to cook, since it's _soo_ difficult to get your royal behind off the throne and make yourself some – _aarghh!_ "

Kirby had run up towards the owner of the voice. A purple-skinned snail whirled on his spot to face him, ladle raised above his head like a weapon. He was wearing a frilly apron over a white shirt and a green waistcoat.

"You!" Escargon exclaimed, gesturing madly. "Kirby!"

"Yuu!" Kirby said happily. "Sukagon!"

"What are _you_ doing here?" Escargon nearly swatted Kirby with his ladle. "Are you even allowed in the kitchens?!"

Kirby tilted his head and replied with an inquisitive _'poyo'_.

"Don't you 'poyo' me! Do you know the amount of trouble I would be in if the king finds you here? And – _arghh,_ _my pancakes!_ "

The smell of something burning was coming from the stove. Escargon screeched and rushed back to his frying pan. Kirby coughed as black smoke filled the air.

"Oh, look at what you did!" Escargon nearly shoved the skillet in Kirby's face. The young puffball backed away, frowning; the smoky and smelly remains of Escargon's pancakes were making his eyes burn. "Why are you always such a nuisance? Go bother someone else! Shoo, shoo!"

Kirby opened his mouth to apologize, but Escargon only growled at him. Kirby's shoulders slumped forward and he gave the pastries and the fruits scattered about the kitchens one last desperate look before finally leaving for the living quarters of Cabinet Minister Parm and his family. Fumu and Bun would know what to do, Kirby was sure of it. He was halfway there when an idea suddenly struck him. Kirby stopped in his tracks, a smile emerging on his features.

Escargon didn't want him anywhere near the kitchens, but he hadn't said anything else about the rest of the castle, had he?

* * *

Dedede's mood did not perk up at the sight of his breakfast table. A bowl of fruits – apples, bananas, strawberries and who knew what else – was placed beside a large pile of deliciously smelling pancakes topped with whipped cream. Another plate was filled with oily stripes of delectable looking bacon, a bunch of golden croissants and a serving of scrambled eggs. And a cup of fragrant tea was already waiting for the king; the only things missing were the cream and the sugar. Still, Dedede sank down in his cushioned velvet chair with a scowl before reaching for his fork and knife. The sound of someone clearing their throat snapped him out of his daze. Dedede groaned. For a moment, the king had almost thought he'd been alone.

"Good morning, sire," came Escargon's grating voice. "I trust you had a good night of sleep?" He was wearing that pink abomination of a maid outfit over his usual outfit. For a moment, Dedede entertained the idea of tearing that thing off him. He had never understood why Escargon was so attached to it in the first place.

"No," Dedede said bluntly. Shoving a handful of fruits in his beak, he gave the room a wide berth. "Where're the Waddle Dees? They've been really lazy this morning. Just look at this!" He gestured at his meagre breakfast. "Is this what you call a meal fit for a king?"

"The Dees didn't do a thing," Escargon muttered. He tugged at the frills on his apron. "I prepared all of this myself. If you had listened to just one word of what I've been saying for the past weeks—"

Dedede went for the bacon next. " _Pft_." He made a face. "This is all burned. And the tea tastes like dishwater. The Dees really outdid themselves this time, didn't they?"

Escargon threw his hands up in the air, letting out a string of incomprehensible sounds. Dedede raised a brow as juice dribbled from his beak. His secretary always made such a fuss over everything.

"Your Majesty, you really need to listen to me on this count—"

The king rubbed his temples, feeling a headache of epic proportion rearing its ugly head. "Ugh, _shut up_." He wondered what would happen if he just threw Escargon out the window. Would his shell break his fall? Perhaps snails were like cats and they always landed on their feet?

"No," Escargon said, stubborn, "I won't shut up! Captain Waddle Doo is losing his patience fast, and if you don't go see the Dees, then—"

That was it. "Argh, just shut it already!" Dedede growled, jumping out of his seat and whirling his hammer out of thin air. Escargon let out a strangled _'meep!_ ' and mercifully clammed up. "I didn't sleep well this night! I had a really creepy dream!"

"Buh-but—"

"Go pester someone else! Captain Doo, maybe, that way it'll keep you both off my back!"

Escargon stuttered and hovered on his spot, silently glowering. For a split second, something that almost felt like sadness settled in the pit of Dedede's belly. The king shook his head, shooing the strange and unpleasant feeling away. He had other things to worry about. For example, how he would open the particularly tasty looking watermelon that stood just within his reach. Dedede's mouth watered; he could almost savour its sweet, juicy flavour already... and he would have, if Kirby hadn't chosen to show up at this moment.

The king and the royal secretary could only look dumbly at the sudden newcomer, unable to process what was unfolding in front of their eyes. By the time they had realized what was happening, the watermelon had disappeared. In his place sat a very content looking pink puffball. For a few second, Dedede stared at Kirby, speechless. Then chaos broke loose.

* * *

Somewhere in Castle Dedede, the daughter of Cabinet Minister Parm was biting down her lip and poring over a long list of materials. Fumu had been given a key part in organizing the celebrations surrounding the second anniversary of Nightmare's defeat at Kirby's hands. She had been honoured, but a part of her thought it was quite much for a single girl of fourteen. Fumu was gnawing on her pencil, lost in thoughts, when suddenly she heard a terrible bellow; it seemed to come from outside her parents' living quarters. Startled, she tumbled out of her seat, dropping her pencil in the process.

"What on earth?" Fumu said, rubbing her sore behind. "Oh, no, not again, Please tell me it's not what I think it is." She dashed out of her room and into the corridor that connected the castle to her family's apartments. Soon she heard familiar squeaking steps.

"Kirby!" Fumu cried out. A pink puffball was skipping towards her. "What's happening?" Kirby stopped to hug her, then took a peek behind him, clearly expecting to have someone running after him.

"What the—?" said a voice from behind Fumu. Her brother Bun had followed after her. As always, his thick yellow and green bangs hid his eyes. "What's going on?"

The two siblings soon knew what it was all about: a large blue penguin wearing a red coat had appeared at the other end of the corridor, shouting curses at the tiny Star Warrior and swinging around a fat hammer. Behind him, out of breath, was Escargon.

"Why, you _liiittle—!"_ Dedede rushed forward rather quickly for one of his girth, bringing his mallet over Kirby. Fumu screamed, but the little puffball managed to gracefully evade the blow. Kirby was giggling, Fumu noticed with some horror. He did not understand the gravity of Dedede's wrath. He never did.

"Come back here, you stupid pink ball!" The hammer collided with a statue of Dedede instead of Kirby's body. Said pink ball landed on the king's head, laughing merrily.

"Get back here— _aaargh_!" Escargon had run up to his master in an attempt to grab the young puffball but he was instead smacked by accident by the king's hammer. The two collided together and fell in a tangled heap. Kirby softly landed on the ground. Dedede pushed Escargon off him, panting heavily. His eyes were screaming murder.

"Guards! Waddle Dees! _To me!_ " the king shouted. Fumu's heart was pounding. A couple of Dees had gathered not far away. Strangely, none of them seemed willing to leave their spot. Instead, they stared at the king with an expression that Fumu found impossible to decipher

"I said, _to me!_ " the king said again, pointing to his chest. The guards did not move a muscle. It was too good an opportunity to pass. Fumu took Kirby and Bun's hands, and the three scampered off.

"You brats! I'll get you someday!" she heard Dedede's yell fade in the distance. As she expected, both he and Escargon were too tired to run after them.

Fumu didn't stop until they were out of the castle. She led her brother and Kirby under a tree in the courtyard, and sat down in the grass, panting.

"K-Kirby, what did you do?" Fumu asked. The pink puffball looked at her blankly. Fumu couldn't help but sigh. "No, wait, I can tell." It was breakfast time, Kirby had come to the castle to meet up with her, but instead found himself drawn to the king's table. Dedede being Dedede, it hadn't ended well. Kirby did something of this sort every three weeks or so.

Fumu rubbed her temples, and exchanged a glance with her brother. Bun shrugged, but Kirby just continued to smile.

"Well," Fumu said – oh, she could definitely feel a headache coming, "that's one way to kick off the day..."

* * *

Dedede was going in circles around the throne, grinding his teeth together and muttering curses. To his relief, Escargon stayed silent as he prepared a new pot of tea, although Dedede could sometimes feel the heat of his gaze on him. It was unnerving, to say the least.

"How could they?" Dedede finally said in a snarl. "How could my own guards ignore my orders?"

Escargon stopped pouring the tea and stared at him, mouth thinned down to a single line. Dedede gulped down. For some reason, he didn't like the look of that particular glare.

"Captain Doo has been telling me for quite some time now that the Waddle Dees are feeling quite, _aah_ , discontent," Escargon said dryly, giving Dedede his cup. "Apparently, they act this way when they feel ready to move out of their current place of residence."

Dedede spurted tea in Escargon's face. The secretary shrieked.

"Ow, ow, ow, _why did you do that?!_ " Escargon said, twitching in pain.

Dedede paid him no mind. "You mean the Waddle Dees want to _leave_?" If the Dees were to depart from the kingdom, then...

Then he would have no army to keep the stupid Cappy masses at bay. Under the influence of that idiotic pink terrorist Kirby and that subversive brat Fumu, they would try to kill him or worse, _overthrow him_.

"Captain Waddle Doo!" Dedede shouted, "Captain Waddle Doo!"

Soon, the diminutive sword-wielding captain came sauntering into the throne room. He gave the king a salute, but there was no mistaking the disaffected look in his single blue eye.

"Your Majesty," came the high-pitched voice, "did you call for me?"

"Captain Doo," Dedede said, trying to sound as confident as possible (which was not working that well unfortunately), "Escargon is going on about how the Dees want to leave me! Is it true?!"

Waddle Doo sighed. "That's what I've been saying for months, _Y_ _our Majesty_." There was much pent-up frustration in these those last few words.

Dedede began pacing around the throne room some more. If he had been blessed with fingernails, he would have started biting them. "You have to do something!" he shouted. "Both of you!" Escargon folded his arms; suddenly, he seemed much interested in the pattern of the tapestry. Captain Doo only stared at the king and Dedede had to look away, uncomfortable with the stare down.

"You have to—urgh," Dedede stopped midsentence. Would his glorious reign – which had withstood several centuries – crumble down now? Dedede wrung his hands together. First that nightmare, now this? Why was everything turning out wrong today? Not to mention, there was this incident with Kirby just this morning. That gluttonous little twerp was almost as bad as the Dees when it came to his stomach.

 _Stomach...?_

"I got it!" the king exclaimed. Escargon let out a yelp, apparently startled by this abrupt change of mind. Waddle Doo, for his part, frowned.

"I know how to get the Dees' loyalty back!" Dedede felt a malicious grin creeping up on his features. "And it'll help me get even with the Cappies for supporting that little pink nightmare over me..."

* * *

The metallic echo of his boots against the steel floor gave away his presence to every soul in the corridor. Upon catching sight of him, the crew of Sir Arthur's flagship always dropped whatever task they were doing to give him a salute. Meta Knight sighed. After living in Dreamland for more than a decade, he'd gotten used to the perks of anonymity. He would have done away with the hero worship, in truth.

Meta Knight took a sharp turn towards the elevator leading to the bridge, his cape swooshing dramatically behind him. The soldiers who guarded the door gave him a nod and motioned over to him to get into the elevator. Not long after, Meta Knight was in the ship's bridge, a vast and grandiose space as big as the courtyard of Castle Dedede. A short guard stationed near the elevator called his name and title in a loud voice, to Meta Knight's great embarrassment. A green skinned puffball clad in golden armour came down from the ship's main control to meet up with the newcomer. Meta Knight could not see Sir Arthur's face from behind the mask, but he was certain he had spotted a glimpse of joy in his old comrade's eyes.

"Sir Meta Knight!" said the leader of the Galactic Soldier Army. "How wonderful it is to see you again, my friend!"

"You haven't changed at all, Arthur," Meta Knight replied. He felt a slight smile gracing his lips.

Arthur laughed, slapping the elder Star Warrior on the back. "On the contrary, my friend," he said, "I'm not the young warrior I used to be!" Sir Arthur chuckled again. "But, you, my friend, seems to be the same as ever."

At Arthur's words, Meta Knight's mood darkened. _He must have started to notice by now that I—_

"You must be curious as why I asked you to leave your pretty little planet," the leader of the GSA said, motioning to Meta Knight. The elder Star Warrior followed him to the centre of the bridge.

"I can guess why," Meta Knight said. To tell the truth, he had nearly refused Arthur's invitation. Meta Knight knew perfectly that the fight against Nightmare wasn't truly over; Kirby had killed the foul creature, but his creations still wreaked havoc on dozens of worlds across the galaxy. Still, Meta Knight had fought against Nightmare's demonic forces since his tender childhood. A part of him felt entitled to a peaceful retirement. Alas, it was not meant to be.

"I can never keep a secret away from you, old friend," Arthur said. He pressed a few buttons on a console. Immediately, a holographic projection of the galaxy sprung up. Meta Knight felt a distant pang of homesickness when he saw Pop Star among the other planets. He had left Sword and Blade to look after his country of adoption, but he missed Dreamland's people, especially Kirby and young Fumu.

"A lot of worlds were liberated when your young protégé worked his miracle," Arthur said, "but many planets near Holy Nightmare's citadel are still under the enemy's control. This is where we come in."

"What do you want me to do?" said Meta Knight. Arthur shifted on his feet, and Meta Knight suddenly realized the absurdity of the situation: here he was, a warrior with centuries' worth of experience, being given orders by a soldier who barely pushed fifty.

"I want you to lead a small strike team on several key worlds," Sir Arthur finally said. "Your mission will be twofold: first, you must help our troops break through the enemy lines. And secondly, I need you to assess the potential of two of our most promising recruits."

"Recruits...?" Meta Knight said, feeling a bit taken aback.

"That'd be us," said a familiar voice from behind.

Meta Knight whirled on his feet. His eyes flashed in recognition. In front of the elevator stood two youths. The boy had a mop of spiky blond hair and his blue gaze was bright and cocky. The girl was slightly older, with thick silver hair held back by a green bandana.

"Joe and Sirica?" Meta Knight felt a mixture of surprise, pride and apprehension at the sight of them. _Of all the recruits Arthur could have given me…_ Meta Knight nearly got lost in dark memories. _I killed Joe's father and I could nearly say the same of Sirica's mother. What was Arthur thinking?_

"Guess you'll be stuck with us, old guy," Knuckle Joe said, flashing a cocky grin – the same as his father, Meta Knight noticed with some sadness. Sirica, for her part, appraised her new commanding officer silently, her eyes holding none of the warmth Meta Knight remembered from her mother.

The Star Warrior held onto Galaxia's hilt for comfort and strength. So much for a comfy retirement in his old age.

* * *

By the end of the day, Fumu stood, satisfied, under the gigantic tree that was considered the heart of Pupu Village. Every Cappy – man, woman and child – had worked tirelessly since morning, and the village was now prettier than ever. Colourful flags hung above every house, and a number of stalls with delicious food and amusing games had sprung up everywhere. The only sour note was the thick layer of clouds hiding the starry sky above their heads. Fumu prayed it would not rain; she knew the rainy season had not yet begun, but she didn't trust the glum look of those clouds.

"I'm sure Kirby will love what I've prepared for him," Kawasaki, the owner of the town's sole restaurant, said cheerfully.

Near him, Gengu, the Cappy who ran the toy store, nodded with a manic grin. "I'll bet he'll love my games even more! At least they won't give him food poisoning!"

"Hey, what is _that_ supposed to mean?"

The two villagers began to bicker. Fumu rolled her eyes, but she did not lose her smile. She had come to love each and every of her fellow Dreamlanders, quirks and all.

"Sis!" Fumu heard Bun's voice. Her brother was running towards her, followed by their adopted siblings Lololo and Lalala. "The mayor says everything's ready on his side. Should we go find Kirby?"

Fumu looked down at the long list of preparations she had written this morning and chewed on her pencil. She had left Kirby with Tokkori, giving him strict instructions to keep the young puffball away from town for the entire day. The yellow bird had protested, but (mostly) agreed to his task.

"I'd say everything is about done," she said, "I just hope Kirby didn't get on Tokkori's nerves too much."

Bun snorted a laugh and the twins chuckled behind him. "I wish I could have seen the look on his face when you asked him to be Kirby's babysitter!" Bun said. "Besides, I say it's payback for all the times he acted like a jerk with us for no reason."

Fumu shrugged. Tokkori _had_ been a pain in the neck four years ago when Kirby had first arrived in Dreamland, but she was not the kind of person to hold grudges. He was acting nicer now, and that's what was really important in her opinion. Everybody deserved a second chance.

The four of them headed for Kirby's home. Bun and the twins chatted with most of the villagers along the way, but Fumu was lost in thoughts, pondering about the extraordinary events that had led to the celebration being held today. Who could have thought that a tiny insignificant country on a tiny insignificant planet would become the starting point of the battle in which the most terrifying being in the galaxy had been finally defeated?

Fumu closed her eyes, smiling slightly as she enjoyed the breeze. She was soon taken out of her reverie, however, when something small collided with her, taking the breath out of her.

"What the—?" Fumu gasped. A tiny yellow bird was flying around her, wings fluttering in rapid motion.

"How dare you do that to me?!" Tokkori screeched, his beady eyes bloodshot and darting in every direction. "Leaving me all day with him! I nearly went crazy!"

"Tokkori!" said Fumu, "u-um, how was your day—?"

"Horrible! My day was horrible!" said the small bird. "I have no idea how you kids can stand him for so long! At some point, he was so hungry he kept trying to eat some poor wildlife." Tokkori seemed about to burst from sheer indignation. "Some of them are friends of mine! You don't see me going around trying to eat Cappies, do you?!"

"Kirby tried to—?" Lalala said, while Fumu covered her mouth, horrified. Behind her, Bun let out a bark of laughter.

Before she could place another word, Fumu heard a familiar voice call out her name.

"Fuu! Buu! Poyo-poy!" Kirby was skipping happily towards Fumu and the gathered crowd. The girl gingerly raised her hand to greet him; she felt she was about to die out of embarrassment.

"Hey, Kirby!" Bun said, grinning, "did you really try to munch on some of Tokkori's friends?"

Kirby gave him a blank look in response. Lololo and Lalala giggled at his dim reaction and Fumu felt a blush creeping up her face. This was nothing to laugh about! From his expression of total disapproval, Tokkori seemed to think so too.

Fumu was about to apologize on Kirby's behalf when she felt a strange tremor beneath her feet. Startled, she looked down at Kirby, whose blue eyes were wide in surprise.

"What the heck—?" Bun began.

Fumu looked behind her. From the distance came a series of loud _thump-thump-thump_. It sounded like hundreds of tiny feet stomping on the ground.

"It's coming from the middle of the village!" Fumu shouted. She and the others ran for the town square, Fumu's heart beating painfully against her chest.

In the heart of the village, everything was chaos. Hundreds of Waddle Dees were jumping on the stalls, grabbing whatever they could find, pointing their spears at anyone who dared try to stop them. The usually peaceful critters were taking all things edible, even Kawasaki's dreadful creations, Fumu was baffled to notice. She soon realized they were carrying all of it back to Castle Dedede. Kirby gave a wordless sound of terror, his eyes filling with tears. In a matter of minutes, there was nothing left of the feast the villagers had toiled over through the entire day.

Bun let out a loud swear. "Not that jerk Dedede again! I thought he'd left us alone for good!"

Fumu could feel a sense of horror – and rage – mounting up inside her. She too had hoped the king had turned over a new leaf.

The villagers were gathering into the main town square, silent with disbelief. Borun, the chief of police, gazed towards the castle with the expression of someone who didn't quite understand what had just happened. His wife was shaking her fists at the heavens, lamenting the theft of her freshly made lobster stew. Next to her, Kawasaki was lying on the ground in a pool of his own tears, mourning the loss of a plateful of his infamous curry.

Fumu began to shake with red hot anger. She turned to Kirby, who had gone still and silent in horrified catatonia.

" _That's it!_ " the Cabinet Minister's daughter cried out in an uncharacteristically harsh tone. Kirby startled out of his daze and looked at her, mouth opening. "He's gone too far!"

Fumu met Kirby's gaze. Slowly, his blue eyes began to fill with steely resolve. Even the mumbles of the crowd were beginning to get louder and stronger and _angrier_. The normally peaceful Cappies had reached their breaking point.

Lololo and Lalala flew toward Fumu. "What should we do now?" Lololo asked.

The corners of Bun's mouth turned into a mean-spirited grin.

"We strike back."

* * *

Escargon's jaw nearly dropped to the floor when he caught sight of the army of Dees coming back to the castle with their spoils of war. The king's crazy schemes had rarely been successful, and the royal secretary had believed this particular plan was more idiotic than all the others, even by Dedede standards.

And so Escargon could almost not believe his eyes as he crossed the length of the castle courtyard. It was filled with Waddle Dees feasting on roast chicken, lobster stew and who know what else they had pilfered from the village. Still, Escargon was rather ill at ease; why, he couldn't exactly tell.

Escargon kept a briskly pace as he walked among the hundreds of Dees, searching for Waddle Doo in the thick of the orange crowd. He finally found the Captain standing by the gates to the bridge. Waddle Doo was eyeing his subordinates with what appeared to be a smudge of worry.

"Waddle Doo!" Escargon said as he dragged himself through the group of indifferent Dees. "I thought you had said the Dees were angry at His Majesty! Why would they go with his plan?" The snail frowned. "This morning, they didn't even lift a finger when that brat Kirby stole from us!"

The little captain scratched his brow, shrugging. Behind Waddle Doo, a pair of Dees were scuffling, the two of them tugging on a single chicken leg. They bore a vicious scowl the like of which Escargon had rarely seen on a Waddle Dee's face.

Escargon tugged at his tie. "I've never seen the Dees act... so _violent_ _!_ "

"It's not in their nature, no," Captain Doo said. "And I'm surprised too that they would obey the king's orders." He seemed lost in thoughts for a moment. "Something's strange going on. You should tell His Majesty to be careful."

Escargon's worried expression was replaced by one of exasperation. "As long as they're violent with each other rather than us, I don't care what they do," Escargon said in an aloof tone. "If they waste their time fighting among themselves, then I don't see why it should matter to us whether they act normally or not."

"But, Your Excellency—!"

"Just keep an eye on them! Do your job properly for once!" The snail huffed as he turned to leave, purposely ignoring the troubled look captain gave him.

Escargon desperately tried to push Waddle Doo's concerns out of his mind, but in every corner of the courtyard, he found more Waddle Dees squabbling over their plunder; their eyes followed after him, spooking the heck out of him and prompting him to pick up the pace. Escargon was about to get inside the castle when he spied a Waddle Dee hitting one of his companions with a large ham. Suddenly, the king's secretary felt a chill that had nothing to do with the fresh air of spring.

"I'm just paranoid in my old age," Escargon said to himself, bringing his eyes to the sky and seeing only a pitch black cloud covering all of Castle Dedede. "Nothing is going to happen." His voice came out squeaky and high-pitched. "His Majesty is going to keep us safe." Escargon swallowed nervously as he scuttled inside the castle.


	3. Chapter 2 - Showdown in Castle Dedede

_**Disclaimer** : The Kirby games, anime and characters don't belong to me, but to Nintendo and Studio Hal!_

* * *

It was a crowd of infuriated villagers with torches and brooms and kitchen utensils who marched up to Castle Dedede. Kirby trailed after them without uttering a sound. He had never seen the people of his adopted village act so angry. Kirby shivered, and something told him it wasn't just because of the chill of the night air.

The mob gathered in front of the castle and they shouted at the Waddle Dees, demanding that the drawbridge be lowered. For their part, the Dees on the battlements only looked down at the Cappies with evident indifference. Above their heads, the clouds seemed be thicker and darker than they had been in the village. It was very perplexing, Kirby found. He glanced at Fumu, anxious for an answer. She appeared deep in thoughts.

"We have to find a way to lower the bridge," she said. Lalala floated towards her.

"Me n' Lololo, we could do it," Lalala said. Her brother gave a nod in agreement. "We'll fly into the castle and find the lever that controls the mechanism of the bridge."

Bun grinned. "Right, and then we beat the snot outta that jerk Dedede!" His sister glared at him, reproachful. "Oh, come on, sis, he _deserves_ it! He's been asking for it for years!"

Kirby could hear murmurs of assent coming from the crowd. Fumu only bit down her lip.

"Fine," she said to Lololo and Lalala. "Just be careful, okay? Don't do anything rash."

The twins flew above the moat and the walls, floating well above the Dee guardsmen, who looked rather annoyed that they could not reach them with their spears. Kirby watched them go, a crease forming between his brows. The little puffball inhaled a big gulp of air and he felt his feet leave the ground. Fumu let out a little cry of surprise as Kirby rose above her

"Man!" Kirby could hear Bun say as he soared over the castle ditch. "I'd almost forgotten that he can fly too!"

Fumu seemed to be shouting something as well, but Kirby could not make out her words. Soon, the castle courtyard had come into view. There was a great big structure right in the middle of it, but Kirby was too far away to see what it was. Kirby felt the cool dampness of the grass under his feet as he landed amongst a group of Waddle Dees. They froze at his sight, and for a moment Kirby returned their wide-eyed stares, not knowing what to do.

To his great surprise, the Dees soon scattered amidst a chorus of panicked ' _wanya-wanyas!'_ As they dispersed across the courtyard, Kirby caught a better glimpse of what he'd seen from up above. It was… a boxing _ring?_ There was a _boxing ring_ smack in the middle of the castle courtyard?

Kirby only managed to utter a baffled "… _poyo?_ " before a bright light suddenly flared above him. Kirby rubbed his eyes, giving a pained moan. A number of Dees were operating a series of large projectors along the castle walls. Kirby could only stare in quiet amazement as they directed the spotlights towards the boxing ring… it was all so very _surreal_. Before Kirby could move, however, a bunch of Waddle Dee aligned into two perfect rows in front of him, producing small drums. The solemn thrumming of their instruments only added to Kirby's ever increasing confusion.

Kirby only watched them with his mouth hanging open, absolutely dumbfounded, until he spied a figure climbing onto the ring. Escargon was wearing a fancy black suit and carrying a microphone. He offered a curtsy to an imaginary audience.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" the royal secretary said into the microphone, "and all of you distinguished people of Castle Dedede and Pupu Village – oh, wait no, that's just Kirby." He suddenly looked like someone who had just swallowed something rather unpleasant.

Kirby skipped towards the boxing ring, giving Escargon a large grin in greetings, but the king's aide only sneered in response.

"We'll see if you still smile after the king is done with you," Escargon said as Kirby jumped onto the ring. His tone was surprisingly malicious. Kirby tilted his head to the side. What did Escargon mean by that?

"Kirby!" a voice called out from the distance. Two knights clad in green were making their ways through the crowd of Dees that surrounded the boxing ring. _Blade and Sword_ _!_ Kirby realized, not without some relief. Sir Meta Knight's two subordinates had opted to stay in Dreamland after their master had left, vowing to protect its people in his stead.

"Sir Escargon," Blade said, "what is the meaning of this farce?"

Escargon rolled his eyes heavenwards. "Nothing that should concerns two traitors such as yourselves," he said sharply. "Your master swore fealty to His Majesty. I don't think you two have the right to question anything the king orders."

Sword drew his weapon from his sheath. "Sir Meta Knight has entrusted us with the wellbeing of the people of Dreamland. If the king is thinking of hurting Kirby, then we'll be forced to act." Escargon appeared unimpressed by Sword's warning, however.

Before the two knights could put their threat into action, Kirby heard someone say his name. The people from Pupu Village had managed to lower the drawbridge; Kirby felt a rush of joy as they filled the courtyard. Fumu was at the head of the group. She folded her arms across her chest, throwing a thunderous look at Escargon. The king's lackey only gave a smirk in response.

Mabel was the first one to voice her displeasure. "You jerks!" she said, shaking her closed fist, "give back what you stole!"

"Kirby's my favourite customer!" Kawasaki added. Fat tears still spilled down his cheeks. "I worked so hard on this curry! I really wanted him to eat it!"

The mayor of Pupu Village, Len, seemed the calmest amongst the Cappies. "Please, Mr. Escargon, your Excellency," he pleaded, while his wife Hana nodded fervently next to him, "we all worked so hard to prepare this little feast for Kirby. This is all very vexing and—"

"Ugh!" Escargon said, rubbing his temples. "Sometimes, I forget how annoying you people can be! I don't want to stay here all night, so let's get this done!" He gathered his breath again, nearly shouting into the microphone, "ladies and gentlemen, people of Castle Dedede and Pupu Village, I give you… _the_ event of the year!"

His words were met by confused mutters from the Cappies. Kirby scratched his head. _Event of the year..._?

"Yes, yes, something you were all waiting for!" Escargon said, his gaze swooping all over the crowd. "A duel between the greatest of warriors!" He gave a dramatic pause before continuing at last. "Our first contestant is the biggest annoyance you will ever meet… gluttonous, moronic and a brat to boot, the one and only Star Warrior... Kirby!"

"What?" Fumu said. "You did all of this because you wanted to make Kirby fight?"

"In your dreams!" cried Bun, "you'd be dumb if you think we'll let that stupid duel of yours happen!"

"We won't let you lay a hand on him!" Blade added, unsheathing her sword like her partner Sword had done before.

As soon as the words had left her mouth, the Waddle Dees dropped their drums and grabbed their spears. Kirby could only watch helplessly as the villagers backed away, rising their hands. Fumu was especially red with anger.

"Now, now, you stupid little pink ball," Escargon said, "you see? Just do as I say and nobody gets skewered."

Kirby frowned. He wasn't afraid to fight – as a Star Warrior, it was something that was as innate to him as eating, after all. But there was a glint of something rather sinister in Escargon's eyes. The snail was the grumpy sort, but there had always been a soft centre under all that bark. This was all very much unlike him.

"Well then," Escargon continued, "shall we introduce our second contestant?" He seemed very smug that the crowd did not think of interrupting him this time. "He is the ruler of all Dreamland, the greatest tyrant who ever lived… the one, the only… _King Dedede, first of his name!"_

The Waddle Dees had started to beat on their drums again. On the castle walls, another group of Dees holding trumpets played a loud fanfare to accompany the companions' spirited _rat-a-tat-a-tat_. The light of the projectors were soon directed on a balcony somewhere above the ring; there, striking a dramatic pose, stood Dedede.

Kirby's so-called eternal adversary stepped over the ledge of the balcony, jumping with his arms extended. Under Kirby's mystified stare, the king began a controlled descent, his great weight supported by a bunch of wires that were held in place by a dozen sweating Waddle Dees. The king landed more gracefully than Kirby would have thought possible; among the Waddle Dees who had supported his fall, some appeared to have fainted from sheer exhaustion. Dedede removed the harness he was wearing with a great flourish and flashed Kirby a maniacal grin.

"Here we are!" the king's voice boomed over all the courtyard. "Finally, we can put to rest all these rumours of you being stronger than me! Every soul in Dreamland will see you for the fraud you are!"

Laughter rippled across the crowd. "These aren't rumours!" Bun shouted. "We all saw you getting your butt kicked by Kirby a hundred times before!"

A muscle twitched above Dedede's brow. Kirby could not help but giggle as well.

"I-I dunno what you're talking about, you little brat!" the king blurted out, a bit of red showing from under his dark feathers. "Anyway, let's just get this started!" And before Kirby could react, the king leaped forward, his great hammer in hands.

A startled Kirby sidestepped, managing to evade the king's weapon head-on. Still, the hammer collided heavily with the ring, the impact sending the young Star Warrior flying. There were a couple of gasps and cries from the crowd.

"Kirby!" Fumu said above the clamour, "his hammer, inhale his hammer!"

Kirby got to his feet, his head a bit woozy. Frankly, he had worked out that part already. It was just a little difficult to put into practice. The penguin clenched that mallet of his rather tightly, after all.

With a great roar, Dedede lunged again, but this time, Kirby was prepared. The young Star Warrior sprung from the ground and, under Dedede's dumbstruck gaze, landed on the king's head, pulling his hat over his eyes. Kirby rolled back onto the stage as a furious Dedede tried to remove the cap from his eyes, swearing copiously. Kirby smiled. There was his chance!

From one corner of the ring, Escargon reached futilely for his master. "Your Majesty, watch out!" he cried out as Kirby opened his mouth.

By now, the king had finally put his hat in place again. "There! Now, you little – whoa!" The hammer slipped from the king's hands and Kirby swallowed it in one shot. For a moment, there was such a horrified look in Dedede's eyes that the young puffball almost felt sorry for him. Escargon gave a whimper as he covered his face with his hands.

"Oh, crap," was all Dedede managed to say before the young Star Warrior, now with a hammer of his own, was upon him. The blow was so fierce the king all but soared in the air, screaming loudly as he crashed into one of the castle towers.

The crowd immediately erupted into loud cheers, with only Escargon's wails to spoil the collective exuberance. Fumu and Bun soon ran up to Kirby; Fumu brought him into a hug that would have crushed Kirby's bones had he any, but Bun only stared at the Dedede-shaped hole at the top of the tower with a mean-spirited grin.

"Bet he won't bother us for a while after the pounding he took now!" Bun gave Kirby a playful nudge with his elbow. "Nice work, there, Kirby!"

For some reason, Kirby couldn't share Bun's merriment. Something nagged him from the depths of his mind… a dark feeling he could not shake. Kirby gulped down a mouthful of air, his belly swelling up.

"Kirby?" Fumu said. "What's wrong?"

Kirby jumped off the ring, flying towards the turret where Dedede had crashed. He made his way through the hole made by the king's less-than-gracious landing, his blue eyes sweeping over the area for signs of the penguin. A subdued moan came from some rubble not far away; the king was sprawled over a bit of debris, his head nodding off.

"You… brat," Dedede managed to grunt, "come here so I can – _owwww…_ " He clutched his head, groaning. "Darnit, you really didn't miss me back there..."

Kirby gave a shrug. The guy had attacked him, but more importantly, he had _stolen_ food from him. The puffball felt he had no reason to go easy on him.

Dedede stood up on shaky legs, and suddenly he screwed up his eyes. "Wait... what's that behind you?" he muttered.

Kirby whirled on his feet. There, floating in front of the hole in the wall, was one of the most bizarre creatures Kirby had ever seen.

It was round and made up of a dark, shadowy substance. However, what was strangest of all was its single eye. The iris was a striking shade of red-orange, the colour brighter than any hue Kirby had ever seen. The eye stared, unblinking, at Dedede – the creature did not even seem aware that Kirby was in the room as well. Kirby heard Dedede sputtering behind him.

"T-That thing!" Dedede stammered, "it's that thing from my dream!" Kirby turned to look at the king. The little puffball caught a glimpse of terror in Dedede's eyes. "Don't let it get me!" Dedede's hand reached out for the young Star Warrior.

Before Kirby could react, the shadowy ball rushed over his head, heading straight for Dedede. A strangled cry left the king's beak as the black creature slammed into him, and to Kirby's shock, seemed to fuse itself with Dedede's body. The impact flung the king backward; Dedede's arms started to jerk unnaturally, and his eyes rolled back into his head. A bizarre black mist was enveloping him. Kirby took a cautious step backwards, letting out a distressed ' _poyo_ '. Dedede's motionless body began to hover aimlessly in the air. The king produced his hammer out of nowhere, his eyes empty and unfocused.

Kirby's instinct told him what was coming. When the mallet struck, he scrambled out of the way, rolling over the edges of the hole. He heard the collective gasp of the crowd as they caught sight of him falling. Dedede soared towards him, sweeping his great hammer. This time, it was a direct hit.

Kirby plunged towards the ground, eyes screwed shut by pain. There was a loud cry from the villagers as he crashed into the emerald green grass. With great difficulty, Kirby got to his feet, his eyes fluttering open. Dedede had floated down to the courtyard and was now advancing towards him with slow, twitchy steps.

"What the heck? That jerk hadn't had enough?" Kirby could hear Bun say.

Fumu gasped. "Something feels wrong... Kirby, what's happened?"

Before the young puffball could answer, somebody ran towards Dedede. "Your Majesty!" Escargon said, "thank goodness you're alright!" He sniffed, wiping a single tear. "Please, let's stop this before you get hurt again!"

The king lowered his deadened gaze toward Escargon. The latter stiffened. "What...? What's wrong, Sire – ?"

The king's response was to raise his hammer above Escargon's head. The royal secretary stumbled backwards, mouth open in a silent scream. Kirby bolted towards Dedede, his tiny body colliding painfully with the king's bigger one; the impact was small but it was still strong enough to deflect the monarch's course. The hammer landed right next to a shrieking Escargon; the king's lackey took the few precious seconds Kirby had given him to run as fast as he could from Dedede.

Dedede lifted his hammer with shaky movements. Kirby eyed him warily. What was he going to do next?

"Kirby!" a female voice called out. Out of the corner of his eyes, Kirby caught a glimpse of Fumu; joy swelled through him as he saw that she held a torch in her hands. "Inhale it!" she shouted, throwing the inflamed stick in his direction. Under Dedede's hollow gaze, Kirby jumped into the air to gulp it down. He felt the now-familiar surge of power, sensing the flux of knowledge coursing through his mind. Kirby now knew everything that had to be known about the art of fire magic.

"Aw, yeah!" Bun said, punching through the air, "set his feathery butt on fire, Kirby!"

Escargon seemed on the verge of tears, however. "Please, go easy on him!" he pleaded. He looked so miserable Kirby could not help but nod. Something was wrong with Dedede. Whatever that black thing was, it was clearly doing him no good.

Kirby had no time to gather his thoughts; the king was rushing towards him, his hammer poised for another attack. Kirby stood his ground, feeling the heat of the fire spell forming within his guts. The flame erupted from his mouth and the fire ball caught Dedede squarely in the chest, the force of the explosion sending the king flying into the air. Dedede's body slammed into a castle wall and he slumped to the ground, his clothes singed and smoking. A group of Waddle Dees that had stood nearby scampered off while Kirby hurried to the king's side.

A pained groan came out of the king's mouth, and Kirby stopped in his tracks. A bit of black mist was emanating from Dedede's body. Kirby braced himself for another attack, but the smoke-like substance dissipated, leaving only behind Dedede's unconscious form.

* * *

Dedede let out a grunt – his head hurt so much it felt it was about to burst. _What's going on? Where am I?_ There seemed to be a crowd nearby – their racket only made the pain worse.

"Ugh, what's going on?" he managed to utter. "Will you all… just shut up?"

"Ah!" a familiar voice said. "He's come to his senses!" A black and purple blur was approaching him. "Are you alright, Your Majesty?"

"Stay away, Escargon!" a girl's voice shouted. "He attacked you too, remember?"

"Y-Yes, but…"

Dedede rubbed his eyes. The world in front of him was suddenly coming into focus. He recognised the yellow brick walls of Castle Dedede and the great red door that led to the main keep. The entirety of Pupu Village, not to mention the thousands or so Waddle Dees he had in his service, seemed to be crammed into the castle courtyard. And right in front of Dedede's beak stood –

" _Gaah!_ " Dedede backed away until he had his back to the wall. " _Kirby!_ Get away from me!" The pink puffball, for his part, seemed relieved for some nebulous reason.

"Kirby? Get away from you?" Bun said in an incredulous voice. "You're the one who went after him like a madman!"

"What?" Dedede said. "I didn't do nothing! He's the one who hit me!"

" _What?!_ Get over yourself, you jerk! You friggin' _assaulted_ him!"

To Dedede's horror, the Cappies appeared to agree with Bun's assessment. The usually sheep-like villagers were brandishing their brooms and saucepans like makeshift weapons. Dedede leaned back against the wall, his heart beating madly against his chest – he almost couldn't believe his eyes.

"This has gone too far," one of Meta Knight's lackeys said. Dedede could never remember which was which. "Perhaps this time we should let your punishment stick for a while."

"What?!" Dedede wheezed. "But I didn't… I didn't –!"

"You really don't remember anything?" Fumu said. "That's strange. What if…?"

Fumu never had the time to finish her thought. A group of Waddle Dees encircled Dedede, jabbing their spears toward his face. Waddle Doo ran after them, letting out a stream of incomprehensible sounds. Dedede soon realized he was talking to the Dees in their own language.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Escargon cried out. He managed to wedge himself in-between the king and the Waddle Dees, arms extended as if to shield Dedede. "You dare turn your weapons against your king?"

"That's the problem!" Waddle Doo said. Dedede swallowed nervously as he noticed just how distressed the captain sounded. "The Dees say they don't recognise his authority anymore!"

" _What?!_ " Escargon shrilled.

Dedede felt as he was about to faint. "What?! No… not again!" He clutched his head. "They can't… they can't do that to me!"

The Dees exchanged dry looks. Waddle Doo scratched his head. "Well, um, they can. They're the ones with the weapons, remember?"

"What?! You can't convince them to stand down?! Waddle Doo, you useless –!"

Immediately Dedede felt his body leaving the ground. A group of Waddle Dees had managed to lift him up. They began to carry him across the courtyard.

" _Argh_ , put me down, _put me down_ , I command you!" The Dees paid Dedede no mind. And was this a hint of smugness he could see on the faces of each and every of his subjects? They did not even have the decency to look away as the Waddle Dees paraded him around like some sort of spoil of war!

The Dees dropped him on the other side of the drawbridge with no gentleness whatsoever. Dedede tasted dirt and he winced as he got up, rubbing a sore butt. On the other side of the bridge, the Waddle Dees and the villagers watched his disgrace without a word, insolent in their contempt.

"You can't throw me out!" Dedede said to them. "This is _my_ castle!" _…this is my_ _ **home**_ _!_ "I'm your _king!_ "

"Funny," he could make out Mabel saying from among the villagers, "I don't remember you doing much of your kingly duties. And I've been here for _years_."

"Maybe we'd be better off without you!" Bun added. His sister shot him a glance, frowning. Their father, the Cabinet Minister, only stared at his feet, possibly unwilling to look his employer in the eye.

"But I didn't do nothing!" Dedede said. "I didn't even get to hit Kirby at all!"

Fumu unfolded her arms. Her frown twisted into an expression of pure disgust. "Oh, I guess this excuses all the times you _did_ hit Kirby? What about all the times you put us in danger because you had bought some Demon Beast from Holy Nightmare?"

"That… that was just to get some fun," Dedede said. "I-I didn't mean nothing by that…"

Waddle Doo walked forward. At least, he had the decency to look mildly apologetic. "Well, anyway," the small captain said with a sigh, "it's a moot point since the Dees have decided they don't want you anywhere near the castle. So, unless anyone in the village wants to welcome you in their homes…"

"Yes!" Dedede put on his best smile. "You're all my dearest friends! You wouldn't let a poor old man like me starve in the streets, would you?"

The Cappies exchanged wary looks.

"Oh, come on, you guys!" Bun said, stomping on the ground. "It's not that difficult a decision, is it?"

"Well, um," Mayor Len said, "perhaps if there was a way to make sure that you wouldn't try to play more cruel pranks in the future…"

"I won't! I won't, I swear!"

The villagers appeared sceptical, but Fumu glowered at Dedede. He felt diminished under her stare, even though she was only half his size. "…I don't believe you," she finally said. "And neither should the rest of us."

Dedede's hope deflated like an old balloon. The Cappies always went with Fumu's ideas. They could never be bothered to think for themselves. "No… _nooo_ , please let me stay! I swear I'll be good!"

"I think it would be better if you leave, Sire," Mayor Len said. His tone was as syrupy sweet as ever. "There's no reason to worry, Your Majesty. I'm sure everything will turn out fine in the end."

Dedede fell flat on his behind. "No, no, no, _no!_ You can't do that to me! You just _can't!_ " Tears threatened to fall from his eyes. "I won't allow it! I'm the king! _I'm the king!_ "

The Cappies ignored his protests as they retreated back inside the castle. There were the screeches of gears grinding to a start as the drawbridge began to rise.

Dedede threw to the wind all the dignity he had left and he went to his knees. "Please, you can't!" His subjects had all turned their backs on him – save for one, Dedede noticed, his heart swelling up a bit. Kirby was looking back and forth from the Cappies to Dedede, his big blue eyes large with confusion and worry.

"Kirby!" Dedede shouted. "I didn't do anything, Kirby! Tell them! Tell them, Kirby!"

For a moment, it looked as if the puffball itched to go to him. Fumu finally dragged him behind her; Kirby managed to give Dedede one last look before the drawbridge closed with a loud _thud_ , leaving Dedede alone and shivering in the cool night air.

* * *

 _ **Author's notes:**_ _As always, a big thank you to all of you readers. I really appreciate it!_


	4. Chapter 3 - A Shadow over Whispy Woods

How long Dedede wandered, he could not really tell.

At least the evening air was cool. Dedede had never told anyone, but he'd always liked the night better. Looking at the stars made him peaceful and oddly nostalgic. And the temperatures never rose to the sweltering heat that often seized the day in that seaside kingdom of his –

Dedede stopped in his tracks, his stomach twisting. _It's not my kingdom anymore…_

The sounds of the waves crashing upon the rocks grew louder. Dedede was getting closer to the sea. He'd decided to get as far from the castle as possible. When he pictured in his mind the masses of angry faces staring at him, _judging_ him, shivers still ran down his spine. He'd been thrown out of his home by his own subjects, the people who had sworn to obey his every commands. What else would they do to him if he happened to get too close to the village?

Soon, Dedede reached an outcropping of rock that overlooked the sea. His coat whipped back and forth as he approached the ledge. A strong wind whistled in his ears and cold drizzle dripped down his face, soaking his feathers and clothes. The clouds were not as dark as they had been back in the castle; here and there Dedede could see stars peering through the gloom.

Dedede looked down at the stormy sea and scowled, stomping on the ground in a sudden fit of rage. "What am I supposed to do now?!" he raged at the waves below. "Where am I supposed to go?!"

Of course the sea could not answer. Dedede swallowed back every curse that came to mind as he kicked a small rock down the cliffs. There was nothing here for him.

Dedede was alone.

He slumped back the way he came, shuddering in his now wet coat. He had thought seeing the ocean would make him feel better. The farthest he could remember he'd always loved the sea. It was the only thing he recalled about his childhood anyway, and even then, it was only a vague impression, as faint as a half-forgotten lullaby. The only other thing that existed beyond that was the memory of a world of blue and white. Nothing else remained.

Dedede sighed, hugging his large frame to stave off the cold. He was halfway through the path that had led him to the seaside cliffs when he heard the distant whirring of a motor. Dedede stiffened, whipping his head towards the source of the sound. There were only two people in Dreamland who happened to own a car: Mayor Len and –

Dedede squinted his eyes. Yes, he recognized the beige and gold coating of the vehicle speeding towards him. He felt his feathers puffing out in outrage. Someone had stolen his car! And they were taking her out for a joyride!

The sheer nerve left him frothing at the mouth. Dedede roared, whipping out his mallet out of nowhere, and charged at the incoming vehicle. The tires screeched as the car came to a grinding halt.

Dedede gave another bellow as he leaped forward, hammer poised for the attack. Gravity was starting to pull him down when a very family screech found its way to his ears. Dedede froze in the air, his growl of rage quickly turning into a surprised yelp as he started to arc downwards. He collided with the driver in a violent swoop, squashing the poor sod under hundreds of pounds of wet, shivering penguin.

A wheeze of pain came from under Dedede. The latter reeled back to the other side of the driver's seat. Escargon was squashed flat against the car door; to say he looked a little dazed would have been an understatement.

"Escargon!" Dedede growled, "the moment I'm gone, you start stealing my stuff?! You ungrateful little – !"

Escargon responded with a scowl of his own. "Ow! You nearly crush me to death and that's the first thing you say to me?!"

"Well, then maybe you shouldn't steal from me!"

"I didn't _steal_ it from you!" Escargon said. "Well, technically, I did, but… that's beside the point! I was looking for you!"

 _That_ wasn't what Dedede had expected. "What? Why?"

Escargon rolled his eyes. "Don't be absurd, Your Majesty! I couldn't leave you on your own." Under Dedede's scrutiny, his cheeks turned a bit pink. "You can barely take care of yourself! It wouldn't have been the responsible thing to do!"

Dedede crossed his arms against his chest. "Oh, so you're here 'cause I'm too dumb to take care of myself. Yeah, no thank you."

"Well," Escargon fumed, "do you think the villagers will allow me to stay? Do you know what usually happens to the people who collaborate with tyrannical rulers?!"

"Tyrannical?! I wasn't tyrannical!"

Escargon stared at Dedede. The king's aide seemed unable to form words.

"Okay, so yeah, maybe I was a bit of a tyrant sometimes – "

"A bit?! One of your biggest hobbies was threatening people with the death sentence!"

Dedede pouted. "It was just for a laugh, I wouldn't have gone through with it…"

They glared at one another for a long moment, the only sound being the soft pitter-patter of the falling rain against the car windows. Finally, Escargon sighed.

"It's all moot anyway," he told Dedede. "We'll be leaving soon, after all."

"'We'?" Dedede said, eyes narrowing. " _We're_ leaving?"

"Well, _I_ am," Escargon spat. "You can come with me if you want. But…" The next words seemed difficult for him to say, "But if you want to stay, I won't stop you."

Escargon's words were like a bucket of ice cold water. Dedede looked behind him; the stormy grey sea was crashing on the rocky cliffs in large, violent surges. He stared in the opposite direction, where Castle Dedede loomed over the whole of the kingdom. Big black clouds still swirled over the only home he'd ever known – the only home he could remember. Something stung his eyes: it took Dedede some time to realize that tears were threatening to roll down his cheeks,

"Alright," Dedede said. He did not dare meet Escargon's gaze. "We'll go."

* * *

It took the efforts of the entire village to clean up Dedede's messes the next day.

Fumu and the others told Kirby they'd take care of everything, gently advising him to take the day off.

"You already beat up that jerk Dedede for us," Fumu had said. "We'll handle the rest, don't you worry."

Still, Kirby was bored out of his mind by midday. The villagers beamed at him as they worked to dismantle the booths they'd set up for yesterday's celebration, but their smiles seemed a little forced. Kirby knew they were trying not to worry him. It wasn't exactly working.

Nobody had seen or heard of Dedede since he'd been kicked out of the castle the preceding night. Escargon had disappeared as well; they had found his chambers to be empty this morning. The deserted room had left Kirby with a strange, lingering sadness.

"Who cares where they've gone?" an exasperated Bun had told Kirby upon seeing his unhappy expression. "Escargon was as big of a jerk as Dedede. You should be glad that they're finally out of your hair."

The memory made Kirby frown, and the puff stopped in his tracks. To his right, Kawasaki was giving some instructions to a couple of Waddle Dees who were taking down a series of colourful pennants. Not far away, another group of Dees were rushing past, carrying a few crates and other assorted parts. They did not pay Kirby any mind as they busied themselves with their tasks.

The Waddle Dees had acted rather peculiar last night, but they'd gone back to their usual self since then. No one save for Fumu and Kirby seemed to have noticed just how odd their sudden bout of cruelty had been. As usual, the people of Pupu Village had been quick to forgive. It just wasn't in their nature to hold a grudge.

"Good afternoon, Kirby!" a voice called out to the pondering puff, taking him out of his daydreams. Mayor Len and his wife were approaching Kirby. "I trust you've had a good night of sleep?"

Kirby nodded. After he'd defeated Dedede, Fumu and Bun's parents had allowed to sleep in their quarters. Kirby had been too winded out from his fight to go back home anyway.

"Oh! I'm glad, then!" the Mayor said. "We were all so worried about you." The surrounding villagers chimed in to voice their assent.

Kirby responded with a joyous " _Poyo!_ " Still, an uneasy feeling remained in the pit of his stomach. Kirby paused to gather his thoughts. Was it because he was simply hungry?

The Mayor had started speaking again, but Kirby listened to him with an inattentive ear. He had made his decision. Yes, maybe he'd feel better if he found himself something to eat.

Mayor Len and the rest of the villagers gave startled cries as Kirby broke into a run. He dashed through the rest of the village without stopping, only slowing down as he climbed up the hill where they'd build his house. He burst into his modest little home and rummaged through his closet to find what he'd been searching for: an old fishing rod Fumu's father had given him for the second anniversary of his arrival to Dreamland.

Kirby sang a tuneless little ditty as he made his way towards the river. The sky was not as clear as he would have hoped – the thick clouds that had hovered over Castle Dedede last night were now casting their gloom over Whispy Woods' forest. Still, Kirby's spirits remained high. The air smelled sweet, the grass was green and there was a song on his lips. Once his stomach would be filled, even the dark clouds would not be enough to drag him down.

Soon, Kirby reached the riverside. He plopped down in the grass and threw his line, still humming his little song. The wind blew past, making leaves twirl around Kirby. He giggled when one landed straight on his nose. It was hard to keep his attention on the float as it bobbed along the flow. There was a pretty butterfly on a flower not far away; the way the sunlight caught on the glittering green of its wings was mesmerizing. Strange and interesting noises were coming from Whispy's forest, not far away: birds singing, various grunts and growls, the distant sounds of claws scratching against the ground…

And so when Kirby began to feel a tug on his line, he nearly rolled over from surprise.

Kirby got to his feet, furiously towing back his line. The pull was so strong he nearly fell on his backside three times throughout his struggle. Kirby's efforts were rewarded when the fish popped out of the water with a satisfying 'plop!' The puff beamed as his future lunch described a perfect arc through the air. Kirby opened his mouth in giddy anticipation.

And then something long and red snapped the fish out of Kirby's reach.

Kirby could only watch with open-mouthed horror as the fish disappeared from his sight. There was a loud gulp, and Kirby had to hang onto his rod for dear life so it would not slip from his hands as something began to pull from the other end. The little puff twisted on his heels to see where his line was leading: what he found completely stumped him.

The creature was round, black, and limbless, only standing at an inch or two taller than Kirby. Its edges were a bit fuzzy, almost as if it was covered by a perpetual mist. A speechless Kirby could only stare as the blob chewed on the fishing line. It was impossible to tell if the creature was gazing back at Kirby; both of its eyes seemed to be stuck in different directions.

Kirby was about to cry out in outrage when the rod finally flew out of his hands. The creature gobbled it down in one gulp. For a moment, Kirby could not find his voice. It was only when the black blob started to move that he was startled out of his daze.

" _Poyo!_ " Kirby loudly protested. The creature was speeding away towards Whispy's forest. Kirby ran after the thief, puffing out his cheeks in anger. " _POYO!_ "

In the midst of one bounce, the creature turned to face Kirby. Its expression was quizzical.

"POYO!" Kirby called out once more. They had now reached the edge of the forest. The Star Warrior got another look at the creature's face. This time, it seemed worried, almost… _fearful_.

Before Kirby could process just what it could mean, he slammed into something large and fluffy.

" _Oof!_ " said a familiar voice. Kirby turned his gaze upward and met a pair of brown eyes. "Kirby?" Rick the hamster asked, handing out a paw to help the little puff to his feet. "What are you doing here?"

Next to Rick, Coo the owl was flapping his wings madly to stay midair. "Kirby! Thank goodness we found you before you rushed off all by yourself!"

Kirby shook his head at Coo's words. The little puff gestured wildly towards where the black creature had gone.

Rick seemed puzzled. "What? You're looking for something?"

Kirby nodded so ardently he almost lost his balance again.

Rick and Coo exchanged a glance. The hamster placed his paws on Kirby's shoulders. "Well, whatever it is, you should forget about it! Just get away from here as fast as you can!"

Kirby blinked. "Poyo?" He nearly jumped out of his skin when a deer scrambled out of a nearly bush, rushing past him and Rick in a blur of brown and white. The startled Star Warrior gasped, his eyes slowly widening as he took in the chaos that was unfolding in front of him. Squirrels leaping from branch to branch, flocks of birds screeching as they soared past, racoons and bunnies and all matter of forest critters raising clouds of dust as their paws hit the dirt… it seemed all the inhabitants of the woods were hightailing out of the place without so much a glance backward.

"You see?" Coo said. "Everyone's making a run for it!"

"Whispy's gone _mad_ ," Rick continued. As Kirby stared at him, mouth hanging open, the hamster added, "I mean, he's acting worse than usual. He's gone completely cuckoo!"

Once again, Kirby looked at the patch of forest where he'd last seen the fish thief.

"Oh, come on!" Rick said. "You're not thinking of going deeper in the forest?"

Kirby's brows furrowed. He gave the hamster and the owl a grim look.

"Alright, alright!" Rick said. "We'll let you go!"

"It shouldn't be a surprise, really," said Coo. "This is kind of your thing, isn't it?"

Kirby replied with another nod.

"Be careful out there, okay?" Rick said, "We'll go get some help! Just wait for us, okay?" The hamster then took off, pausing only to add, "I mean it! It might be dangerous! Wait til we get back, Kirby!" And with that, Rick ran off, followed by his feathered friend.

Kirby waited until the hamster was well out of sight before he took to his heels again. The forest paths were not well-lit. Usually, a bit of sun filtered through the canopy, illuminating the way, but now, with all the clouds covering up the sky, the vivid green of the woods had turned to a washed-out grey. The wind hissed as it passed through the leaves; now that all the other animals were gone, it was the only thing Kirby could hear other than the soft squeaks of his footfalls. It wasn't the summer breeze Kirby had learned to love so much – the summer breeze he'd been enjoying only moments prior while he'd been fishing. It was as cold and piercing as the gale that sometimes rose when the sea whipped to a frenzy during the monsoons.

Kirby could not tell how long he wandered the winding maze of paths that crisscrossed Whispy's forest. He stumbled upon at least three or four roots, landing flat on his face each time. By the time he realized he'd passed by the same tree more often than he could count, his face was scratched raw and his eyes were itching with unshed tears.

It was hopeless. Kirby could not find his way back to Whispy – not without the help of some forest inhabitant, at least. As the cold wind blew past, Kirby plopped down in the dirt, shivering. Some hero he'd turned out to be…

The sounds of leaves rustling came from a nearby bush. Kirby jumped to his feet, eyes now riveted on the suspicious shrubbery. There was another flutter, and the _creak_ of a branch breaking in two. Kirby inched closer. Before he could utter a sound, the leaves were parting and a ball-shaped creature was rolling out of the bush with surprisingly high velocity.

And so for the second time that day Kirby collided headfirst with something round and soft.

With a squeal, the creature rebounded off Kirby. It flattened like a pancake as it hit the ground, but regained its original shape after a few little bounces. Kirby stood still with shock as the creature rolled back to show its face. Kirby tilted his head as they locked eyes. The red, dopey grin that broke on its face stood in stark contrast with the black fuzziness that enveloped its body.

The blob's cheer was contagious. Soon enough, Kirby's apprehension was melting away. "Poyo?" he addressed the fish thief, a question and an introduction all rolled up in one word.

The creature's long tongue dangled out of its open mouth. "Poyo?" it – he? she? – repeated after Kirby. Their screw-eyed stare expressed some puzzlement.

"Kaabii," Kirby said, pointing at himself. The little Star Warrior knew better than to forget his courtesies – after all, Fumu would have been very disappointed if he had. "Kaabii, poyo."

"Kabipoyo?" the blob said.

" _Nooo_." Kirby waved his arms up and down. "Kaabii! Kaabii!" He struggled to pronounce the words right. The sounds always fumbled in his mouth and never came out right. "Nay – nay – naymu!"

"Oh!" the black creature said. Their mouth quirked into another grin.

"N – n – naymu? Yuu?" the words stumbled out of Kirby's mouth.

The black blob stared stupidly at Kirby. The puff scratched his head, wondering. Did they even have a name? Where did names come from, anyway? The little Star Warrior wasn't even sure why the people of Dreamland had begun to call him Kirby in the first place. He would have to ask Fumu for clarification.

The creature rocked back and forth on its spot. Kirby took a tentative step forward. The blob bounced closer. Kirby racked his brain, trying to remember what else you had to do when you first met someone. Shake their hand? Then, what was the best course of option when none of the party involved had hands in the true sense of the word?

Kirby was about to ask his new bizarre companion if he knew the answer when a long, profound growl rumbled out of the dark expenses lying in wait at the end of the path. Goosebumps prickled Kirby's skin. The black blob seemed to shrink down. Without their red grin, only the white of their eyes stood out against the black mist that covered their face.

The air vibrated once more with the same, mournful clamor. To Kirby's ears, it seemed half a wounded animal's wail, half the snarl of a beast of prey. Yet, there was something oddly familiar about the sound. Almost as if he knew the one responsible for these noises –

The realization hit him like thunder, and Kirby took to his heels, not wasting another second. He was soon surprised to find his new unlikely friend bouncing by his side as he ran. Kirby stared at the black blob, mouth agape, but the creature's face was unreadable. The puff tossed his questions aside. He had to find out why Whispy was acting this way. The tree never had what could be called a good temper, but hurting the denizens of his own forest was something entirely out of character.

The deeper Kirby went into the woods, the denser the air seemed to get. Yet, the breeze hitting his cheeks as he ran remained cold and dry, a far cry from the sticky humidity he'd learned to expect from his country of adoption. Shadows loomed over him and his companions as they rushed through the woods, leaping over roots and brooks and rocks with an agility that was at odds with Kirby's earlier clumsiness. The wailings were growing in intensity. They were getting closer, Kirby could feel it.

Whispy's clearing was ominous in the lack of sunlight, the colours that normally brightened up the ancient tree's abode appearing deadened under the grey skies. The white and pink and yellow flowers seemed to shrink back under the darkness that reached out from the depths of the forest. Kirby could not see Whispy's expression, but he could hear his wheezes. The little black blob let out a whimper.

There was a long, chilling _creeeak_ as the tree trunk twisted to face Kirby. Whispy's eyes were blank, two great holes had held none of the warmth that usually lit the ancient protector's gaze. Kirby backed away, slowly realizing he'd seen the same kind of eyes not long ago, on someone else's face. Dedede had him given a vacant, indifferent look as well when they had fought last night.

A hiss escaped Whispy's open mouth. The leaves fluttered about the clearing, caught in a cold wind that soon rose in intensity. The ground rumbled from under Kirby's feet; the young puff braced himself, knowing well what was about to come.

When the root burst out from underneath Kirby, the young Star Warrior had already leaped through the air, evading the sudden assault not a moment too late. His strange new companion was not so lucky. The blob cried out in surprise as the root whipped at them, knocking them back into the trunk of another tree.

" _Poyo!_ " Kirby exclaimed. The moment his feet had touched the dirt, he was rushing towards the black blob. More roots erupted from the ground; they surged skyward, twisting like the limbs of a mad octopus. Kirby dodged their attacks with a few swift sidesteps and slid towards his unfortunate companion. The creature had jumped back to their – well, not to their feet, since they obviously didn't have any.

"Poyo?" Kirby asked, the single word heavy with worry. The creature seemed to understand Kirby's intent and they flashed him a quick grin.

Kirby's relief was short-lived; not a second later, the roots lunged forward, swooping low to knock both Kirby and his friend off the ground. The puff made himself as flat as possible; he watched with wide eyes as the roots swept only an inch away from his face. Next to him, the black blob had flattened their body as well.

Whispy finally drew his roots back. The ancient tree huffed and puffed and Kirby yelped as he was brushed off his feet by a great whiff of air. A stray root swerved towards the young Star Warrior: it would have struck him if the black blob had not chosen this moment to jump and push Kirby out of the root's trajectory. Kirby looked on in horror as the root instead smacked his new acquaintance right on their nonexistent nose.

"No!" cried Kirby. He hit the dirt running and saw stars for a moment. In the distance, he heard someone call out his name. Kirby's head was swimming; had he imagined that voice? Perhaps he had –

" – irby! _Kirby!_ "

Someone helped Kirby to his feet. His heart swelled with happiness as his eyes met a pair of familiar gazes. Fumu was grasping his shoulder, a wavering smile on her lips, while Bun stood not far away, holding a long stick as a sort of improvised weapon.

"Kirby!" Fumu said. "Are you alright? What happened?"

Kirby heard a flutter of wings and saw that she was also accompanied by Coo.

"Whispy!" the owl said. "Stop this madness! Please!"

"It's no use, Coo! He's not himself!" another familiar voice added. Rick the hamster scurried into the clearing. "Is it the work of another of those Demon Beasts?"

Before Kirby or Fumu could answer, a deep rumble rose through the air. Whispy's wooden cheeks puffed out. His roots emerged from the ground, whipping the empty space with renewed violence.

"Sis!" Bun cried out. "He's about to attack again!"

Fumu's grip tightened around Kirby's arm. "Oh no!" She rummaged through her bag and handed something to Kirby. It was… a simple, frilly parasol. Kirby stared at her. "Oh, don't give me that look!" she growled. "Mrs. Hana gave it to me! It was the only thing I had on hand when Coo and Rick found us!"

"Maybe we should have taken one of Kawasaki's knives!" Bun said, exasperated. "Or, y'know, a _torch!_ "

"A _torch?!_ " Rick said. "What, so you could have burned the whole forest down – _whoa!_ "

A vine flew a hairsbreadth away from his furry nose. Rick tumbled on his behind with a yowl. Another root headed straight for Bun. The boy swatted at it ineffectively with his stick and the wooden appendage knocked him back almost effortlessly.

" _No!_ " Fumu screamed.

Whispy puffed out the air he'd been inhaling. Fumu gave another shriek as the rising wind lifted her off her feet. Kirby shielded himself with his stubby little arms, managing to hold his ground… except the parasol slipped right out of his hands.

The frilly abomination would have swung out of sight and out of reach had a long and now familiar red tongue not caught it right as it was about to disappear in the dark depths of the forest. The tongue reeled back to its owner with such speed that the parasol smacked the little black blob right in the face. Kirby's new friend seemed a bit dazed for a moment. Then, they whirled on their spot, hurling the parasol towards Whispy with great force. The shaft bent a bit as it hit Whispy's face. To Kirby's surprise, the tree squeezed his eyes shut, grimacing in pain and ceasing his rampage if only for a moment.

Still, it was all Kirby needed to act; he rushed forward, opening his mouth to inhale Mrs. Hana's poor mangled parasol.

From the spot where he'd been unceremoniously thrown to the ground, Bun gave a whoop as Kirby twirled in the air to show off his new weapon. The grip of the parasol in Kirby's hand was familiar, almost comforting. Kirby nearly returned Bun's smile… but then, he caught Whispy's empty gaze staring back at him. Kirby recalled Dedede's frightened and tearful pleas as the villagers dragged him away from his castle. The memory made him cold all over. He couldn't let something like that happen ever again. He could not.

Kirby offered a mental apology to Whispy as he charged, thrusting with the tip of his parasol almost as if it was a sword. A wild tangle of roots thrashed in-between Kirby and his target. Kirby could not tell how he managed to escape their violent sweeps: he simply did, sidestepping and jumping and crouching with a level of skill that went far beyond his young age.

The parasol slammed into Whispy's wood visage. The impact was not strong enough to break the bark, of course, but it left the tree roaring with rage. One branch came down to swat at Kirby, but in a surprisingly graceful movement he sprung to his right, grabbing his parasol with both hands to swing it at Whispy's nose. Cloth and metal collided with wood with a nasty _crunch_. Whispy pulled back his roots and vines, and the clearing was now filled with the low thrum of his howls of pain.

Kirby flipped back on his feet, his parasol ready for another attack. Whispy moaned and thrashed in apparent pain. Kirby frowned. Whacking the ancient tree a couple of times with a parasol was nowhere near enough to cause him real damage.

Bun seemed to think the same thing. "What's going on?" Kirby heard him say. "Why has he stopped attacking?"

"It's almost as if…" came Fumu's voice, "almost as if he's fighting off whatever's controlling him!"

"C'mon, Whispy!" Rick shouted. "Snap out of it!"

"One more!" said a voice Kirby did not know. The little black blob had rolled next to him. "One more!"

"Wait, _what?_ " Bun blurted out, at the same time his sister cried, "What?! What _is_ that?"

Kirby had no time to marvel at his friend's newfound voice. He propelled himself forward, deflecting a few incoming vines by opening up his parasol and hiding behind the red and white fabric. Out of the corner of his eyes, he spied a blur of green and brown speeding towards him. The vine was but an inch away from Kirby's face when the black creature's tongue snagged it, halting its course. Whispy's branch strained against the force of the blob's pull. The round creature offered Kirby a wink before finally letting go. The vine swerved back towards Whispy, hitting him square in the face with a resounding _thwack!_

Not a moment later, Kirby was sliding towards the great tree, swinging his parasol with all the strength he could muster. The metal shaft twisted as it struck the poor forest protector. Kirby jumped back, panting, as tremors began to ripple across Whispy's trunk.

The canopy above fluttered with each of Whispy's shudders. His face froze up in a soundless scream. A dark mist came out of his open mouth. The black cloud thickened, its edges turning denser, _sharper_. Through the fog, Kirby glimpsed a bright orange eye rolling back into its socket. For the briefest of seconds, Kirby met its one-eyed stare; the fiery iris flashed red at the sight of the little puff. And then the black mist was gone.


	5. Chapter 4 - Meetings and Monsters

Kirby stood still, the adrenaline racing through his body leaving him taut as a bowstring. Soon, the rays of the sun peered through the intertwined leaves and branches, dappling the ground of the clearing with bits of light. The cold wind died down, and the spring flowers that had cowed under its chilled assault perked up, bringing the colours back to the forest.

"You did it, Kirby!" Bun cheered. He and Fumu joined the little puff in the middle of the clearing. Bun caught Kirby in a headlock, making him giggle, when Fumu laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"You okay?" she said. She let out a sigh of relief as Kirby nodded. "Thank goodness! When Coo and Rick told us what was happening, I was fearing the worst!"

"Yeah!" Bun said, "what the heck was up with this guy?" He gave the ground a kick. "Is it a Demon Beast again? I thought we were done with that kind of crap!"

Rick scowled. "It better not be that moronic king of yours again! We've had it with his shenanigans!"

"No, it can't be him," said Fumu. "He's gone. Well, it hasn't been long, but–"

A soft groan interrupted her. Coo and Rick gasped. The owl and the hamster scurried to Whispy's side.

"Hey!" Rick said. "You back to normal, now?"

Out of the bushes came more animals. The critters gathered around Whispy; their faces brightened as the forest protector gave them a weak smile.

"Whispy!" Coo rapidly flew to inspect the great tree's branches. "Thank goodness you're alright!"

"You…" Whispy said in a shaky voice, "what happened? I feel as if… as if I did something terrible…"

"It's not your fault!" Fumu replied. "You must have been… _possessed._ I mean, by a Demon Beast, or something."

"Possessed?" A distressed Whispy looked at the animals assembled before him. "I… I do not remember anything except… I thought I was having a nightmare. Have I… have I hurt any of you?"

"We're fine!" Rick said. "You should really be worrying about yourself, man!"

"I… yes, my nose hurts up a bit…"

"Do you remember anything about whatever possessed you?" Fumu asked.

"Before… before I went to sleep, I…" Whispy closed his eyes and seemed in pain for a moment. "I remember a black mist going over me… and… and there was this… _eye_ staring back at me…"

Kirby's stomach did a somersault. _An eye…?_ Again, the image of Dedede's terrified face came unbidden in his mind.

"An eye?" Fumu repeated, echoing Kirby's thought. She would have said more, but the black blob suddenly hopped into view, and she only let out a yelp instead.

Fumu's grip on Kirby tightened. "It's that thing again! What _it_ is?"

"Is it a Demon Beast?" Bun cried out.

At Bun's shout, the animals whirled to face Kirby and the black creature. Their gazes were heavy with mistrust.

"Hey!" Bun asked the blob, "who're you? Where'd you come from?"

"Bun!" Fumu admonished. "He's helped us, don't be a jerk!" She tilted her head. "Well, um, you're a 'he'… right?"

The creature gave a lop-sided smile. "He? Me?"

"Do you…" Fumu approached the black blob, extending a welcoming hand, "do you have a name?"

Kirby's new friend appeared to ponder for a moment. "Nope!" he – she? – finally said. "Is it something that I should have?"

There was a collective groan from the critters of the forest. Bun, for his part, only scoffed.

"Yeah, drop the cutesy act," the boy said. "We've all seen it before."

Fumu pursed her mouth, shooting her brother a look. Rick approached Kirby and the blob, his eyes narrowing in doubt.

"I'm with the kid," the hamster said. "Whispy goes bonkers the moment this guy shows up? You can't tell me there's no link."

The blob's scarlet grin faltered. "I-I'm not… there's no–"

There was a slight crease between Fumu's brows. "So, what happened to innocent until proven guilty, huh?"

"I've never seen him before, but…" said Whispy, "as I said, I only remember an eye and a dark shape enveloping me before I…" The great tree fell silent, and he offered the newcomer a frail smile. "Still, I do not see how this little fellow here could be involved in such a dastardly business."

The animals exchanged a few looks, seemingly unconvinced.

" _Riiight_ l" said Bun. "I'll let it slide… for now."

The black blob beamed. "Thank you! I don't remember wanting to hurt nobody! Actually… I don't remember _anything!_ "

"Amnesia, huh?" Bun said with a snort. " _Convenient_."

"Bun! Being all suspicious will bring us nowhere!"

"Then, what do you suggest, Miss Fumu?" said Coo. "How do we find whatever creature is responsible for this?"

Whispy let out a low humming sound. "Perhaps Master Kabu could be of help. His knowledge of the Demon Beasts is vast and unparalleled."

Kirby nodded enthusiastically, while Fumu cried out, "Kabu, yes! How could I not think of him?"

"Go see him," Whispy said. "I… I still feel weak. I must gather my strength."

Rick, Coo and the other denizens of the forest huddled around Whispy.

"Don't worry, you old codger," said Rick. "We'll keep an eye out in case another creep comes around."

"Then, we should get going," said Fumu. "There's no time to lose."

She and Bun moved to take off, but Kirby hesitated, looking at the still nameless blob. The creature stared back; a smile still illuminated his (her?) features, but there was something forced about the expression.

Kirby sauntered over to his new friend. He looked back at Fumu and Bun, silently communicating that he would not leave without the little black creature.

Fumu appeared to understand his intent. "You should come with us," she began, addressing the blob. "Maybe Kabu can help you too. We have to find a way for you to remember who you are and where you come from."

"Yeah," Bun muttered to his sister, "and more importantly we can keep an eye on the guy if he follows us."

Fumu did not answer, but Kirby knew that it was also a possibility that she had considered.

After a while, Fumu sighed. "Alright, let's go. See you guys later," she told the animals of Whispy's forest. "Keep in touch and let us know if there's more trouble."

Soon, Kirby, the two siblings and their strange companion were off. As they sped through the woods, Fumu addressed the black blob once more.

"We should find you a name until you get your memory back," she said. "Do you, uh, do you have anything in mind?"

"Nope!" the creature said as he (she? they? It was hard to tell) bounced alongside Kirby. "I don't think I ever had a name!"

"Um, okay, then," Fumu replied, blinking. "You… can you try to think of something, at least?"

"You're kinda blue-black," said Bun. "What 'bout Blacky? Or Bluey?"

"Bun, these sound _terrible_ …"

"Yeah, I'm not fussy about them either, but cut me some slack, sis…"

Kirby thought Bun's suggestions were perfectly fine. "Ooey!" he repeated after his friend, tasting the name on his tongue. " _Guh_ -ooey!"

The creature stuck out their tongue in a playful manner. "I like Gooey! It's soft and squishy… like me!"

Fumu rolled her eyes; still, her lips curled into a tiny smile. "Gooey, it is, then."

* * *

The sky had already gone pink by the time they reached the canyon that served as Kabu's abode. The black clouds had dissipated over their heads, lifting an invisible weight of worry off Fumu's shoulder. These clouds had been strangely off-putting. She was glad to see them gone.

Fumu still remained apprehensive as they approached the large stone form of Kabu. The ancient sage stood clad in shadows; what little she could see of his face was as impassible and foreboding as ever. Fumu swallowed nervously. The cold air sent goosebumps down her skin.

"Kabu!" she called out through the gloom. She brought her hands together in the semblance of a prayer. "Great one, we need your guidance!"

"Fumu," came the guardian's low rumble, "and young Bun and brave Kirby as well. I knew you would come to see me."

"You did?" said Bun. "What do you mean? Do you have any idea about what's happening right now?"

"I do." The two words bounced off the rocky cliffs around them in a booming echo. "I had foreseen that those events could come to pass. Alas, I was hoping I might be wrong."

"What did you see?" asked Fumu. "Does it have anything to do with the thing that attacked Whispy?"

Someone touched Fumu's arm. She peered down, finding Kirby's big blue eyes staring back at her. It seemed as if he wanted to say something to her. Before she could ask him, however, Kabu began to speak once more.

"An evil presence has awoken… one that I have not felt for ten thousand years."

"Ten thousand years?" Bun exclaimed. He grimaced at his sister and muttered, "Were you aware that Kabu was such an old guy?!"

"Shush, Bun," said Fumu. Kirby tugged her sleeve, looking quite insistent this time. "You guys, stop," she whispered. "Let's just listen to what Kabu has to say."

Bun didn't listen to her, of course. "Does it have anything to do with Nightmare? Is he back?"

"No, child," Kabu said, "this entity has lay waste to the galaxy long before Nightmare began his reign of terror. It is the one responsible for the massacre of my masters. I had thought it gone… _destroyed_."

Fumu gasped. "Your masters? You mean the ones who built you?"

"Indeed," Kabu said. "The people of light, who brought wisdom and prosperity throughout the stars… the _Photrons_."

* * *

The ship swayed as it entered the planet's orbit. Meta Knight closed his eyes beneath his mask, breathing deeply to wish the nausea away. He'd never been one good enough to pilot such small vehicles. Not for the first time, he wished he still had the Halberd. He had never suffered from motion sickness aboard his trusted vessel.

Thankfully, Meta Knight's mask hid his discomfort from the two youths who happened to be aboard with him. Knuckle Joe had pressed his face against one window; he was grinning, no doubt mesmerized by the sight of the ferocious planet below, with the large trails of lava scarring its grey, rocky surface. Sirica, for her part, was leaning against a console, her arms crossed against her chest. Her expression remained cool and collected, although Meta Knight was certain she was not so calm underneath this façade.

Of course, Meta Knight thought bitterly, considering just what happened on that planet ten years ago, she had every reason in the world to be caught in a turmoil of conflicting emotions.

"So this is it, huh?" came Joe's voice. "Our first mission as members of the GSA. We're going to kick some serious butt down there."

"Don't get too confident," Meta Knight admonished. "This place was one of the first planets we lost in the war. It is overrun by Demon Beasts of all kinds."

Sirica shuffled on her spot. Her expression had grown especially sour. Joe, on the other hand, was rubbing his nose, and smirking that cocky smirk of his.

"I know, old man, I know," the young fighter said. "I just…. I get nervous before a battle, y'see? Gotta psych myself up or else…"

Meta Knight had nothing to reply to that. _Your father was the same_ , he could have said, but the words would not come out. He glanced at Sirica. Her head was bowed, and he could not see her features so clearly now.

"What 'bout you, huh?" Joe addressed her. "D'you have any pre-battle rituals?"

Sirica only glared at Joe from beneath her bangs. Without any word, she turned her back on the blond fighter and left the cabin.

"Sheesh!" the boy said, "I was just tryin' to make conversation, is all!"

Meta Knight sighed. "You are not the problem, Joe. It's…" He peered down at the fiery surface of the planet from out the hull. "I believe that it is this place that is making her on edge."

"Huh? Why?"

Dark memories played within the depths of Meta Knight's mind. He wasn't too fond of being sent here, too… "This is the place where the early Star Warriors found most of their relics." His hand rested on Galaxia's hilt. "Including this sword of mine."

"Yeah?" prompted Joe. "And? What's the link with our trigger-happy pal, then?"

Joe's blue eyes were earnest. They were so much like his father's, Meta Knight thought. Just like Sirica shared the same fierce gaze as her mother.

"Sirica has never told you what happened when we claimed back Galaxia from the enemy, then?"

Knuckle Joe grew somber. "Nah, I know the story, I know that her mom–" He abruptly stopped, before shooting a horrified look at Meta Knight. "No way… don't tell me…"

"Yes," Meta Knight said dejectedly. They were making the final part of their descent down the atmosphere. The ship started to shake heavily as he said, "This is the place where Sirica's mother died."

Meta Knight's fingers coiled tighter around the hilt of Galaxia as he finished, "The planet Halcandra."

* * *

The sun was rising over the distant horizon, illuminating the end of the road in a blinding glare. Escargon squinted his eyes, cursing the early morning rays. Dedede, of course, was sawing logs next to him, sounding much like a malfunctioning lawnmower. Escargon was strangely grateful for the ear-splitting noise. He'd driven all night and he had reason to believe only His Majesty's not-so-graceful snores had kept him awake for throughout these long and lonely hours.

Escargon sighed; the scenery was getting all fuzzy. He started to nod off. The path in front of him became to be a blur of brown and grey and orange. White spots were appearing in his vision and the wheel was getting nearer. Was that normal? Maybe that wasn't normal–

"WHOA!" someone screamed to his right. "EYES ON THE ROAD, PAL!"

Escargon's eyes snapped open. A tree was rapidly approaching – or rather, they were going to ram straight into a tree standing innocuously by the side of the road.

With a shriek, Escargon gave the wheel a jerk, making the car violently swerve out of the way of their would-be wooden attacker. The tires screeched against the dirt of the road as the vehicle spun to a stop.

"Oh my god, oh my god," Escargon said, panting. His heart was beating a mad tattoo against his ribcage.

"You nearly killed us!" Dedede shrilled. "You idiot! What were you thinking?!"

Escargon wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of one hand. Outside, the sun was high up in the sky, shining so brightly it hurt the eyes. It seemed as if it was taunting him.

"Hey!" said Dedede, "are you listening to me?"

"Ugh!" was all Escargon said in response. He swung the car door open and sauntered outside to survey the damage. Thankfully, there seemed to be no damage – except to Escargon's already fragile ego, of course.

Dedede followed after him. "What was that all about?"

"I dozed off." Escargon hit his forehead with his palm. "Ugh, I knew we should have stopped in that town we passed by a couple of hours ago."

"What town?" asked Dedede. "We passed by a town?"

Escargon rolled his eyes as he went back inside the car; he had a nasty suspicion that he had to shake off. He turned the key in the ignition lock. The car gave a pitiful sputter then went silent.

"Oh no," Escargon said, "oh no, oh no, oh no…" Now, that was just his luck. They had avoided a crash just to end up out of gas. He'd never thought it possible, but he suddenly missed Gus, the idiotic owner of the sole gas station in Dreamland.

"What's up, genius?" Dedede's voice came from outside.

"We need to find a place to get some gas," Escargon said in a wheeze. He dragged himself out of the car again and slumped on the hood. "I think the nearest town is not far away. We'll have to walk."

Dedede snorted out a laugh. "No way I'm gonna walk. Go out and find that town or whatever. I'll just…" He glanced askance in a shifty look. "I'll watch over the car. Yeah, that's obviously important. I'll do that."

"Oh, of course," said Escargon, " _I'll_ wander into the unknown and find a gas station while _you_ stay here and sleep."

"Keep guard," said Dedede. "Not sleep. The distinction's important." He had the nerve to look all smug as he completed his sentence. Escargon glared at him, preparing a snappy retort, when a deep rumble came from within the woods. Dedede's smirk flittered away.

The king – or was it king-in-exile now? – jumped behind Escargon. "W-Wha… what was that?"

"How am I supposed to know?" The sound was getting louder. It reminded Escargon of the growl of a bloodthirsty animal. "Okay, I'm not staying to find out." Without so much a backward glance, he took off, leaving Dedede squeaking indignantly behind him. "Have fun watching the car!"

"Oh no you don't!" Dedede said. " _You_ stay behind and watch the car!"

"I thought we'd already decided on who was doing what–"

A huge roar interrupted Escargon mid-sentence. Sucking in a breath, the snail looked behind him, only to see a large dark shape irrupting from beyond the trees. With another growl it made straight for Dedede and Escargon.

"Oh my god, it's gaining on us!" cried Escargon. In response, Dedede only ran faster. "Wait, no, don't leave me here, Your Majesty!"

"You just have to be quicker, dummy!"

"I'm a _snail!_ This is as fast as I can go!"

"You didn't have this problem whenever you were running away from me!"

"It wasn't the same! You were never this fast before!"

"Oh, _whatever_." In one swooping motion Dedede had grabbed a squealing Escargon. "Ugh! Since when have you been so heavy?"

With each step Escargon's head bounced, making him dizzy. "You're – one – to – _talk!_ "

In the distance, Escargon could see the end of the forest path. Not far away from the edge of the woods, he could spy a few quaint little cottages and vast, rolling fields of wheat. Shapes of different colours were moving amidst the village and farmlands. _People!_ Escargon thought with relief. _We're saved!_

"Over there, over there!" Escargon managed to cry out. "Go, go, go! _Hurry!_ "

The beast gave a thunderous roar and Dedede unsubtly sped up in response. "Easier said than done! What _is_ that thing, anyway?!"

Escargon whipped his head to look behind them. "Some – some kind of monstrous – demonic boar – it seems! How – am I – supposed to know?!"

By now they had reached the outer part of town. The villagers, who had previously come forward, no doubt curious about the strange duo barrelling towards them, had now obviously gotten a glimpse of just what they were running from. With a chorus of shrieks, the Cappies scattered like a bunch of headless chickens.

"Useless, the lot of you!" Dedede shouted at the panicking townspeople. "Freakin' cowards…!"

"Watch out, Your Majesty! Keep your eyes on the – _arrrghhh!_ "

Dedede never saw the rock lying in his path until it was too late. The two of them flew forward and hit the dirt in a tangle of limbs. There was a sharp intake of breath from Dedede and Escargon realized, his heart squeezing in his chest, that the crazed creature was charging straight at them, tusks ready to send them soaring in the air. The remaining villagers watched everything unfold with horrified gazes, their mouths poised open for a scream. Escargon whimpered, cowing behind Dedede.

"Stay back!" the latter shouted. "STAY BACK!"

The beast's dark shape loomed over their huddling forms, eyes blazing red. Then, there was a nasty crunch as Dedede's mallet slammed into the beast's snout. The nightmarish face registered a hint of surprise for a split-second before the creature was launched through the air. Its body described a perfect arc above the whole of the village before landing splat in the middle of a field. With a high-pitched squeal, the once murderous boar scurried back to the forest.

Escargon watched the events unfolding in front of his eyes with his mouth dangling open. Soon, a few Cappy onlookers were approaching. Soft ' _ooh_ 's and ' _ahh_ 's of admiration came from around the two exiled Dreamlanders.

"Whoa," said Dedede. "That was a close one."

"That was amazing, sir!" a woman gushed.

"That beast had been bothering for a while now," another Cappy added. "It's the first time I saw someone sending it packing!"

"We couldn't go near the forest without it trying to attack us," a third villager added. "I sure hope that good bonk on the head you gave 'em will be warning enough in the future to just leave us alone!"

" _Whoa_ …" Dedede repeated, blinking.

The group of villagers split in two to let an elderly Cappy approach Dedede and Escargon. It must have been the town elder, the snail surmised.

"It's not the first creatures to go mad, unfortunately," said the old man. "So many times we've asked for help, but no one came to our aid."

"Asked for help?" Escargon said. He stood up and dusted himself off. "What kind of help?"

"Well, we put up a reward and–"

Dedede jumped to his feet as well. "A reward?!"

"Yes, um, we hoped that some professional monster hunters would–"

"Professional monster hunters?" Escargon said in one breath. He glanced at Dedede, who was staring stupidly at the old man. "That's us – I mean, that's definitely what we do, yes." The snail put his hands on his hips and schooled his features into what he hoped was a confident look. "Demon Beast hunters, that's what we are."

Dedede blinked at Escargon. "Huh? But–"

Escargon clamped down Dedede's beak with his hands. A low growl filtered from the king-in-exile as his ex-aide laughed weakly.

"We were in search of work, actually," said Escargon. "How fortuitous!"

"Is that so?" the old Cappy mumbled as he tugged on his long white beard. "Well, the reward in question is not that big, unfortunately for you both. We've pooled what resources we could afford, but there's only a handful of us, after all…"

Escargon's smile became brittle. "O-Oh, well…" Next to him, Dedede seemed about to froth at the mouth. "We won't ask for much." Escargon punctuated the end of his sentence with a dry chuckle. "We just… need some gas. And maybe some food. And a place to stay. For the night, you see." _And maybe even longer than that, too_ , Escargon thought snidely. He had to see if there could be other ways to mooch off these people.

"Of course," said the old man. The other townspeople nodded, agreeing with growing smiles and cheerful chatter. "You are both welcome to stay."

Escargon had to fight the urge to rub his hands together in evil glee. Instead, he gave them the sappiest smile he could muster. "How kind of you!" He nudged Dedede in the ribs. "R-Right, Sire?"

"Meh," a sulky Dedede replied, "whatever. It's the least you can do after we saved your butts from that thing."

Escargon's fingers dug in the fabric of Dedede's sleeve. A hint of disapproval had started to show on the rows of near identical faces looking at them both.

"Oh, don't listen to this old grump!" Escargon told the frowning Cappies. He gave Dedede's arm a pat. "We'll just go back to our car to get our things. Toodles!" And he dragged the exiled monarch away from the crowd before they could place another word.


End file.
